The Prince of Hogwarts
by Gracey May
Summary: This story is about a boy named Sirius Morgan who goes through deaths, loves, and birth. He has the problems as everyother teenager, besides did I mention he's an orphan prince? Is this new American really what he thinks she is, or just another one of his
1. The Prince

It's not that Sirius Morgan did not like being an only child, he hated it. Sirius would receive anything he would ask for. A new skateboard, Gameboy SP - anything. The just fifteen-year-old boy climbed out of his bed still half a sleep. He looked at his digital clock. It read 1:15 PM. 'Whoa. Earlier than normal', Sirius thought as he walked out of his room. It was the last two weeks of summer vacation before Sirius would be leaving to go to his favorite place in the world - Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Sirius loved it there. It took him away from his parents, which he never really saw because of their working hours. He had a nanny named Marissa who would take care of him, a butler named Wallis who took him wherever he wanted, and a gardener named Benny who was just twenty and one of Sirius's best friends. br /br

Sirius walked into the bathroom and took a look at himself in the mirror. When he saw his mustache starting to grow, Sirius just smiled thinking of the a girl who adored mustaches. The girl was a year older than him in school, and was "the girl" of the school. All the boys drooled over her, especially Sirius. But the thing was, "the girl" of the school named Courtney Oswald only liked blonde boys with blue eyes. Sirius was a brunette with blue eyes. Every summer he thought about dying it, but his nanny would never let him. "If you do that I will shave your head!" Sirius laughed at the thought of her saying that to him. br /br

"Sirius!" Marissa called. "Breakfast! Or lunch! Whichever you prefer!" br /br

"Comin'," Sirius called back. The teenager looked at himself again in the mirror. "It's all a new year. New faces. New friends. New girls." He said to himself. Leaving the bathroom he looked down at his stomach. The teenager tightened his stomach and beat on his abs. Sirius had abs from the sport at school, Quidditch. br /br

Sirius made it to the kitchen when Marissa placed his plate at his seat at the counter bar. He sat down and started eating his bowl of SpongeBob Macaroni and Cheese with a glass of orange juice. br /br

"Eat up. We just received your Hogwarts letter and we must get to Diagon Alley as soon as possible so there isn't another mad rush like last year." Marissa said to Sirius as he had already finished his bowl. Sirius ran up to his bedroom. He went to his dresser and pulled out one of his Quidditch shirts and a pare of blue jean shorts. Sirius ran out of his room putting his flips-flops and shirt on at the same time. At the bottom of the royal staircase was the front door. Marissa and Wallis stood there waiting for him. br /br

"Come on, your highness." Wallis said opening up the door. Sirius never thought of himself as royalty, even though his grandparents were the King and Queen. The three of them walked outside to the old barn where Benny was feeding the horses. br /br

"Hey Sirius!" Benny waved to him. br /br

"Hey Benny. We're headin' to Diagon Alley. Wanna join?" Sirius asked as Marissa and Wallis entered the barn. br /br

"Naw, sorry, kid. I can't. It's training day for your handsome boy" Benny said petting the black stallion. His name was Godric after Godric Gryffindor, which was the founding father of Gryffindor that was Sirius's house at Hogwarts. br /br

"Oh well. Take good care of him, will ya?" Sirius said petting Godric. br /br

"Like always, Sirius," Benny said saddling up on Godric and riding to the stables where Godric was trained. Sirius continued his way to the barn and found himself standing in front of the fireplace. It was only used to get to places around in the wizard world. It was lucky for Sirius to have Wallis and Marissa because his parents were neither a wizard nor witch, but Wallis and Marissa were. br /br

"Ready, your highness?" Wallis asked as he and Marissa were in the large fireplace holding the Floo-Powder. br /br

"Yes, Wallis," Sirius said walking in the fireplace next to Marissa. They all held on tight as Wallis said "DIAGON ALLEY!" and dropped the powder. Within the next few seconds, they were in Diagon Alley, a wizard's shopping area. br /br

"Here, Sirius," Marissa said handing him about twenty-five galleon coins and a few sickles. "We'll get your supplies that is on the list, new school robes, new Quidditch robes, and a special surprise. Spend that on something that you want, but nothing Quidditch! Your room is going to overflow with all that Quidditch junk you have in there!" br /br

"Alright, Marissa," Sirius laughed. "I'll meet you back here in 2 and half hours, alright?" br /br

"Alright. Take care, sweetie." Marissa said kissing his cheek. Sirius waved goodbye to Marissa and Wallis and was off on his own. br /br

His first stop was Flourish and Blott's Candy Shoppe. He walked in finding Courtney Oswald there with her two best friends, Marina Williams and Erica Smith who were the second two most popular girls in school. Courtney turned around when Sirius entered the shoppe. He smiled at her, but then she gave him a dirty smirk. br /br

"Hey Richy," Courtney said rudely to him while her friends giggled. Everyone at Hogwarts called Sirius "Richy" because of him being royal. "Did you come here in your limo?!" Courtney laughed even harder. Sirius's face got redder and redder with embarrassment. 'I can't believe I liked her,' he thought to himself walking passed them while they just laughed at him. br /br

Sirius walked to the back of the store trying to forget about her. He grabbed a plastic bag and started filling it with all sorts of candies that he loved. Courtney walked by and bumped Sirius which made all of his candy fall out. br /br

"Oops! Did I do that?!" She said rudely as Sirius went to the ground to pick up the candy. br /br

"Here," said an unfamiliar voice. Sirius looked up to find out that he was looking at the most beautiful girl in the world. The mysterious girl had dark hair like his and green eyes, a small nose and ears, and the sweetest voice he had ever heard. "Let me help you with that." said the girl putting the candies into her hand. br /br

"Thanks," Sirius said still staring at her. br /br

"What? Is there something on my face?" She laughed. Sirius's shook his head. br /br

"Oh. Oh no. I'm sorry. But do I know you?" He asked. br /br

"Aah," the girl said quickly turning around. "No. But I have to go." she said placing the candies into Sirius's hand. "I will be seeing you around, soon. Good-bye," she said standing up and running out of the candy shoppe. br /br

"Wait!" Sirius called, but it was too late. The mysterious girl had already left the shoppe. Sirius just kneeled on the floor of the shoppe thinking he just made the biggest mistake ever. He continued to pick of the candy off the floor and onto the counter. After all was cleaned up, Sirius left the shoppe to sit on a bench to wait for Marissa and Wallis. br /br

Sirius sat down thinking out the girl. 'Dammit. I didn't even get a number or name or anything. Or even where I would see her next.' Sirius stared down at his feet, thinking of her. As he stared, an unfamiliar coin was right next to his foot. He picked it up and examined it. A head of an elder man was on it. The words around it said "United We Stand". 'It must be American,' Sirius thought to himself as he put the coin in his pocket He had never seen anything from America, nor even an American. br /br

"Hello Sirius!" Marissa called to him as he put the coin into his pocket. She was carrying at least four bags while Wallis held six. "Did you get anything?" She asked sitting down next to him. br /br

"Well," Sirius said looking over to the candy shoppe, "no. No, I didn't." br /br

"That sure is good because we got you candy already," Wallis said taking out four bags of assorted candies. br /br

"Thanks, guys." Sirius said with a smile. br /br

"It's getting later than we thought," Marissa said looking at her watch. "It's five fifteen and I told your parents that you would be back by five thirty." Sirius groaned. His parents continuously had that curfew for him. Five thirty. Ever since he could remember he had to be in by five thirty. Nothing ever happened at home at that particular time, or even after five thirty. "Oh Sirius. I promise I will try to work out that curfew for you." br /br

"It's about time," Sirius said rudely standing up. br /br

"Alright..." Marissa said curiously. "Let's get going." br /br

Marissa, Wallis, and Sirius walked to the nearest fireplace. They got in and went home right away. The second they entered the barn, Sirius ran across the yard, into the house, and straight up to his bedroom. Sirius closed his door and jumped on his bed. He grabbed his remote and turned on his music. His favourite band was on which was The Rasmus. There then was a knock on the door. br /br

"Sirius. It's us. Marissa and Wallis. Can we come in?" said Marissa. br /br

"Sure." Sirius said turning the music off; They came into the room with the bags from Diagon Alley. "Thanks," Sirius said sitting up. br /br

"Anytime, sweetheart," Marissa said as she and Wallis sat down on the bed. "Can we talk?" br /br

Normally this never happens. Marissa and Wallis are never both together talking to Sirius at the same time. Something had to be up. "Okay..." br /br

"There's something you need to know," Wallis started. "And what it is could change your life forever, but I just want you to know, Marissa and I are always here for you." Sirius did not know what was going to be said next. br /br

"It's your parents," Marissa said starting to tear. "Oh Wallis...Please tell him," she said standing up to walk around to hide her tears. br /br

"Well, they...they passed away, your highness. I'm terribly sorry." Wallis said strongly; Sirius sat there, staring at Wallis as he continued with how they died. But Sirius was not paying any attention to a word he was saying. His parents had died. He was now an orphan. A lonely royal in the world. His heart had broken in two while his eyes shed tears. "Your highness?" Wallis said as a tear fell from Sirius's blue eye. br /br

"Yeah..." Sirius said wiping the tear. br /br

"Everything will be okay," Wallis said hugging Sirius. br /br

"I - I know." He said letting go. "So what is going to happen to me?" br /br

"What- what do you mean?" Marissa asked sitting next to Sirius. br /br

"Who will take care of me? Watch me? Who will be Prince? Do I have to get married? Will I still go to Hogwarts? I can't leave it there! It's my home! My life! Who will be my guardian? Will I still live here? I don't want to move!" Every question that popped into Sirius's mind flew right out of his mouth. br /br

"Well, in your parent's will, they left Marissa and I in charge of you," Wallis answered. "You will be crowned Prince next week. You won't need to be married until you are old enough, just like your father. You will still go to Hogwarts. Marissa and I will be your guardians. And you will still live here. I promise." br /br

Sirius was just a little happier with those answers. "Now," Marissa announced, "since this is going to be a royal funeral, the publicity will be there and your grandparents do not want you attending." Now Sirius was confused. br /br

"What? Why? It's my parent's funeral!" Sirius yelled. br /br

"I know, I know, sweetie. Settle down, settle down," Marissa said patting his back. "But it's for your own safety. The King and Queen do not think this it is something for your precious eyes to see. If you have anything to ask them, call your grandmother." With that, Sirius grabbed his phone off of his night-stand and punched in the number. br /br

"Can I be alone?" He said to Marissa and Wallis. br /br

"Sure, sweetie. We'll be downstairs." Marissa said leaving with Wallis. br /br

The person on the other line picked up. "Hello. This is the home of King Marvelous and Queen Josephine Morgan. This is their butler James speaking. May I help you with anything?" br /br

"Hey Jimmy. It's me. Sirius." Sirius said with a weak voice. br /br

"Oh, hello Sirius," said Jimmy. Sirius was always over his grandparents that he called their butler by his nickname. br /br

"Is my grandmother or grandfather available to speak to? It's very important." Sirius said demandingly. br /br

"Hold on, your highness." Jimmy said. br /br

"Hello Sirius Duke." said the voice of his grandmother. br /br

"Hello Grandmother," Sirius said wiping more tears from his eyes. br /br

"How...how are you doing, sweetie?" she asked. br /br

"Okay, I guess," Sirius said. "Can I ask you something?" br /br

"Go on..." br /br

"How...How did they die? Wallis told me but I wasn't paying attention because I was thinking about the future." br /br

"I know. He told me you were not quite with it while he was telling you all of this tragic news." Grandmother said softly. "They were coming home on the horses on the street to come home to go to Diagon Alley with you." With that, Sirius listened more closely to what his grandmother was saying. "You're probably thinking they got into an accident like you last year, but that is exactly the opposite. As they were entering the castle, they…disappeared. Benny saw and said it was as if they ran into a black, invisible hole. I have been strictly enforced to tell you this. Stay inside. Do not, under any circumstances, leave the castle grounds, or better yet, the castle itself. So please. Stay inside all night and day. We will have a special security for you from now until they get you on that train to Hogwarts." br /br

"But Grandmother, Hogwarts is this Sunday. And what kind of security are you having for me?" Sirius asked curiously. br /br

"As you already know, your grandfather has high connections with Albus Dumbledore and Azkaban. The second this happened, your grandfather spoke personally with Dumbledore and ordered him to send the guards from Azkaban over to your castle. Look outside." Sirius jumped off his bed and ran to his window that faced the front of the house. He peered out of his window and into the sky. At least fifty dementors flew above the castle. Dementors are the guard at Azkaban Prison, which is the wizard prison. If they get close to you and kiss you, all hope and happiness is sucked out of you, as if you will never be happy again. br /br

"How long will they be around me, Grandmother?" Sirius asked as he saw police officers finally coming to the scene, but what Sirius found strange was that nobody was there. No bodies of his parents. Nothing. br /br

"Honestly?" Grandmother said sympathetically; Sirius said yes. "Until they capture the villain." br /br

"But Grandmother… I think it was magic, and with magic, it's quite hard to find the villain." br /br

"I know, darling. I know. These guards will be with you always. They'll guard the castle, even when you're at Hogwarts, and they'll guard Hogwarts castle and the Hogwarts Express. Hogsmeade will be well guarded, as well." Sirius did not know what to say. For his whole live, he has had a bodyguard around him, but not a dementor. Dementors always had scared Sirius for his entire life. "But don't think of them as being with you. Think of them as protecting everyone, Sirius." Sirius was still scared with that thought. "Well, hunny, I'm terribly sorry but I must go." br /br

"All right. Thank you, Grandmother," Sirius said melancholy. br /br

"Just remember, wherever you are, just send us an owl and we will always write back. I promise, darling. I love you so much," Grandmother said. br /br

"I love you, too, Grandmother," Sirius said hanging up. He lay down, thinking of everything. Hogwarts would be different this year. Dementors flying outside the castle, his best friend dying in the early summer - tragic already. And the year did not even start. But at the end of the year feast last year, Professor Dumbledore said that a school from the United States was breaking apart. It only had five students per year, which are only thirty-five people. The school, called Dallas, is joining Hogwarts this year due to the fact that all of the other American schools are completely full. br /br

"That explains the coin!" Sirius said to himself digging through his pockets looking for the coin he found in Diagon Alley. He looked at the other side of the coin. It had what looked like one of the fifty states. Pennsylvania. It was Pennsylvania. 'Dallas must be in Pennsylvania,' Sirius thought to himself pulling all of the information he gathered into one whole thought. As he tossed the coin into the air, he thought about his day, which was a horrible one, indeed. It all started with Courtney Oswald and the candy, and the gorgeous girl who helped him. The girl. He forgot about her. 'I'll be seeing you around, soon," Sirius remembered her exact words. Seeing him soon. But where? Was she one who went to Dallas? br /br

But for some reason, Sirius was not worried about her. He always worried about his flirt life over anything else, besides Quidditch. For the first time in his life, his parents were on his mind. He missed them dearly, but was very confused on their disappearance. Were they still alive? No evidence showed that they were, and yet none showed that they died. Could Benny be lying about what he had said to Grandmother? Or could Grandmother be lying to Sirius about what truly happened? And Wallis and Marissa? All of those questions swarmed in Sirius's mind while he just laid there, slowly falling into an uneasy asleep. br /br 


	2. Back at Hogwarts

((A/N- please comment! this chapter took a while...))

Days past and Sirius continued to mope around the house. He started packing some, but continued to think about his parents continuously nagging at him to pack more underwear, socks, and everything else. It was Saturday, the day before he would be leaving for Hogwarts. Marissa was up in Sirius's room packing for him. Sirius was in the study trying to find his Quidditch playbook. Even though he was the Keeper for the Gryffindor team, he had to know every play because he was the captain of the team. Finally, he found them next to the computer right in front of their family picture. He picked the photo up slowly, half smiling. The Morgan family was all in their formal cloths. His mother had her hair all up in curls with the crown on top, Father had his cane and crown, and him just standing right in front. His hair was parted to the side, and he had always hated that. Sirius picked up the picture and the playbooks and continued to his room. Marissa and Wallis were in there closing the trunk. br /br

"Wait. I have some more things," Sirius said walking in. Wallis opened the trunk; Sirius carefully placed the picture and play books into the trunk. br /br

"We have a surprise for you, your highness," Wallis said as Marissa grabbed a long, thin box from his closet and handed it to Sirius. br /br

"Open it, hunny," Marissa said as he read the card. It said: br /br

"To Our Son: Sirius. br /br

We thought you would need one of these for your fifth year at Hogwarts. br /br

We love you forever and eternity, br  
Mum and Dad " br /br

Sirius looked up at Wallis and Marissa. "They were planning on going to King's Cross station with you tomorrow and were going to give this to you there." Marissa said respectively; Sirius's eyes filled with tears, but not one dropped. He opened the box up finding to what had to be the most beautiful thing in his life right now. A Firebolt boom. He has always dreamed of owning one, but though people would continuously call him "Richy" due to the fact that a Firebolt is the most expensive and best riding broom there is. br /br

"This is wicked. Totally wicked," Sirius said examining it closely. The golden letters at the tip of the broom had Firebolt carved into it, and on the flip side, Sirius felt more lettering. Prince Sirius Duke Morgan - Love Mum and Dad. br /br

"Well, before you fall too deep in love," Wallis laughed, "do you want me to pack that for you?" br /br

"Yes, please," Sirius said handing his designer made Firebolt to Wallis who put it into its box and into Sirius's trunk. br /br

Sirius sat down on his bed with Wallis while Marissa went to get them all milk and cookies. "So," Wallis started, "you excited for the new school coming in from America?" br /br

"Yes, I guess so," Sirius said half lying. br /br

"Did you meet any new girls at Diagon Alley last week?" br /br

"Well," Sirius sighed, "sort of. I dropped my candy and then this gorgeous girl came over to help me with it. She was beautiful. Absolutely brilliant. Haven't seen anyone like her ever in my life." br /br

"Well, I'm sure everything will work out for you, your highness," Wallis said patting Sirius's back. "Just so you know, I packed your trumpet and guitar in your trunk along with all of your instruments' needs." br /br

"Thanks, Wallis," Sirius said as Marissa came back up with the cookies and milk. The rest of the day Sirius spent it outside in the barn with Godric and his owl named Toby. Sirius lay down on a bundle of hay. He thought about what his school year would be like. The new people might change it a little; he thought stroking Toby's feathers, especially if that girl is there. He smiled. He really liked the girl; even though he does not know one thing about her other than she is nice and absolutely gorgeous. He looked at the clock that was above Godric's stall. It read 8:45 PM. br /br

"Woah, I've been here that long?" He said to Toby who hooted for the reply. "Come on. I have to put you in your cage. Hogwarts tomorrow!" Sirius smiled to Toby who flew directly into his cage. Sirius locked the cage, and said goodbye to his black stallion. He walked out of the barn and looked up at the sky. Stars that he had never seen before brightly shown through the, for once, non-cloudy sky. Sirius continued walking to the house as Wallis was standing at the door waiting for him. br /br

"Have fun, your highness?" Wallis said opening the door; the two of them walked in, handed Toby to Wallis, and walked into the kitchen. br /br

"Yes, I did, I guess," Sirius said sitting down at the counter bar. br /br

"Can I get you anything, darling?" Marissa said walking in from the garage. br /br

"No, thanks. I think I'll pass. I'm just so excited about tomorrow!" Sirius smiled. br /br

"Well then, you get up to your room, pack some more, and hit the sack. You need your rest. I'll be waking you up at nine o'clock, okay?" Marissa said kissing his forehead. br /br

"All right. Night Wallis. Night Marissa." Sirius said walking up the stairs with Toby in hand. He walked into his room, finding his trunk where it had been all week with cloths coming out of it. He put Toby down on his nightstand and lay down on his king size bed. Sirius slowly fell into a deep sleep. br /br

"Rise and shine, Sirius," Marissa said opening his bedroom door; Sirius opened his eyes finding himself lying in his bed for the last time until next summer. He sat up, looking at himself in his dresser mirror. "Breakfast is ready whenever you need it," Marissa said sweetly closing his doors. Sirius slowly got out of bed and walked over to his dresser. He pulled out a pair of his favourite jeans - the ones with the holes purposely cut in them-, a Quidditch hoodie, and a Rasmus band t-shirt. He put all of them on and ventured down the stairway and into the kitchen. Sirius sat down at his bar seat at the counter, like he had always been doing. br /br

"Nervous?" Wallis said sitting next to Sirius and Marissa while they all ate their bacon, eggs, and home fries. br /br

"A little," Sirius lied; He was always nervous the day of Hogwarts. br /br

"Well, eat up," Marissa said putting her plate in the sink. "We're leaving in fifteen minutes." Sirius looked at the clock; it read 9:45. br /br

"Alright," Sirius confirmed wiping his mouth. The teenager left the kitchen and ran up to his bathroom. He grabbed a plastic bag from underneath the counter to put his toiletries in. He packed his toothbrush, toothpaste, comb - even though he never once used it -, gel for his hair, razor, and shaving cream. He took the bag to his room, put it in his trunk, and sat down on his bed. He lay there, thinking of the following year. He hoped that at least one of the new girls from America would like him, and hopefully finding a new best friend. br /br

"Come on, Sirius!" Marissa called up the stairs for him. "It's already 10:15! You'll miss the train!" br /br

With that, Sirius flew out of his bed, grabbed Toby and his trunk, and ran down the stairs with everything in hand. Wallis was at the bottom of the stairway with the door open. br /br

"Let me take that for you, your highness," Wallis said offering to take his trunk; Sirius gave it to him and went outside to the limo with Toby. Marissa was already in the front seat with a basket. br /br

"Here," she said turning around in the car as Sirius sat down and giving Sirius the basket. "It's filled with all of your favourite goodies." br /br

"Thanks, Marissa," Sirius said putting the basket next to Toby's cage. Wallis sat in the driver's seat and pulled out of the driveway. Sirius stared out his window, watching the castle and the dementors behind. br /br

The car ride was silent, besides whenever Marissa would turn a few times saying things like "Oh I'm going to miss you so much!" and "Write to us whenever you can." or "Just study every night, unlike last year." It was true. Sirius never studied, and he managed to just pass. He could remember his parents always saying "Now, Sirius. The Kingdom will not like a stupid Prince." He laughed. His parents knew nothing about how hard magic was to learn. He didn't mind, though, because he knew they were just caring. The normally 45 minute drive to King Cross's Train Station turned into a 35-minute drive. br /br

Wallis hopped out of the limo, opened the door for Sirius who grabbed Toby and the basket and got out of the car. The paparazzi were there, like always. Sirius smiled for some, but then shielded his face with the basket. Security guards came and escorted the paparazzi out of the area and took Sirius, Marissa, and Wallis to platform nine and three quarters. There was 10 minutes left before the train would depart from the platform. br /br

"Oh, Sirius, please take care of yourself, for my own sake!" She said hugging him. br /br

"I will, don't worry, Marissa." he confirmed letting go. br /br

"Be careful, your highness," Wallis said making 'careful' stand out then any other word. br /br

"I will, Wallis," Sirius promised. He gave each of his guardians one last hug and kiss before running into the barrier that took him to platform nine and three quarters. "Good-bye," he said as he ran into the barrier while pushing his cart that had Toby, his trunk, and the basket on. He came out the other side finding the beautiful Hogwarts Express. The train hadn't changed; it was still gigantic and red since last year. Sirius smiled; He even missed the train ride to Hogwarts. He walked closer to the train, grabbed his entire luggage off of the carrier, and brought it all on the train with him. He walked down the one hallway in the train, finding no empty compartments for him and his owl. Finally, the last compartment was free. He slid the glass door open and put everything in it. He sat down, trying to relax. He was on his way to his most favourite place on the whole earth. The train started moving; Sirius's stomach lurched with excitement. br /br

He sat there for the first hour, staring out the window as if he had never seen it before. Sirius pulled out his guitar from his trunk and started playing. He started playing his favourite song; "Absolutely" by Nine Days. Sirius had the singing voice of a band that had girls chasing after them from all angles. But the only thing is that nobody knew Sirius could sing; not a living soul. His mother did, but only because she taught him how to sing and play guitar on their long plane rides to and from other countries. br /br

"Hello," said a familiar voice; Sirius looked up finding the girl from the candy shoppe in Diagon Alley. He froze. "Remember me?" She asked. br /br

"Uh...yeah. Of course I do," Sirius smiled. br /br

"So you play guitar and sing?" She asked. br /br

"Yeah, yeah I do. My mother taught me. I also play the trumpet." Sirius answered still in shock of seeing her. br /br

"That's awesome. I wish I could sing," the girl sighed. "I can play guitar amazingly, but I just can't sing if my life depended on it!" She laughed; Sirius smiled. br /br

"I'm sure you're not as bad as you think," Sirius said; she smiled. br /br

"Thanks, but I am. I don't even sing to songs at dances when you can't even hear me," the girl laughed. Sirius noticed she had a northern accent. br /br

"Wanna sit down?" Sirius asked. br /br

"Yeah, sure. That'd be great," the girl said sitting down across from him. "So, I never caught your name..." br /br

"It's Sirius. Sirius Morgan. And you?" Sirius asked; He wasn't even going to mention the fact that he is now a prince and that his grandparents are King and Queen and that his parents had just disappeared exactly one week and a day ago. br /br

She paused. "Blake Snider," Blake said shaking Sirius's hand. "So, you play Quidditch, I hear?" br /br

"Yeah. Yeah I do. Keeper, as a matter of fact. And I'm captain for the Gryffindor team." Sirius confirmed. br /br

"Oh that's awesome. I'm- well I guess used to be- a Chaser. Not sure if there are any spots left though since I'm just joining at an odd time." br /br

"Well, if you get into Gryffindor, we're having tryouts the second week of school for a Chaser and a Beater. But that's if you get into Gryffindor," Sirius said sadly. What if she did not get sorted into Gryffindor? Would things change between them? br /br

"I hope I do. That'd be really awesome 'cause then we'd be together," Blake blushed. "I mean, that way if I get lost, I'll have somebody with me. Yeah..." br /br

"Yeah," Sirius smiled at her. "I got lost my first year there. It was kinda scary because I went on this floor we weren't supposed to be on and yeah. Detention." Sirius and Blake laughed. br /br

"So, whom do you hang around with at Hogwarts? Friends, girlfriend? Anyone?" Blake asked curiously. br /br

"Well," Sirius thought. "No one this year, I guess. My best friend died in an accident in the beginning of the summer." br /br

"Oh, my," she said holding Sirius's hand. "I'm terribly sorry." br /br

"Thanks," he tried to smile, but nothing came out. Sirius did not know what to say. There was a knock on the door. Sirius looked up, seeing a small boy peering in. br /br

"Oh, Jason." Blake said opening up the door. "What you doing here, bud?" She asked the boy. br /br

"You said you'd be right back," the boy said. br /br

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jason. I just had to come and visit a..." She looked at Sirius. "A... A boy I met at Diagon Alley last weekend." br /br

"Hi, I'm Jason," he said shaking Sirius's hand. br /br

"I'm Sirius. Nice to meet you, Jason. How old are you?" br /br

"Eleven. It's my first year as a wizard," he said proudly. br /br

"That's brilliant! You'll love it here at Hogwarts. Promise." Sirius said brightly. br /br

"Cool!" He smiled. "Well, I better be going. Just had to find you, sis." Jason said standing up and walking out of the compartment. br /br

"He's a cute kid." Sirius said. br /br

"Yeah...Quite annoying, but you get used to them." br /br

"Them? How many siblings do you have?" Sirius asked. br /br

"Well let's see..." Blake started. "There's my little twin sisters Jamie and Lucky who are ten, Jason, Oliver who is fourteen, and then my twin brother Andrew. So I'm one of six." br /br

"Woah. That's awesome. It's just me in my family." Sirius said sadly. br /br

"Lucky. You must spend a lot of time with your parents," She said brightly. "I don't." br /br

"Yeah...I guess I do," Sirius lied. He wanted to tell her, but he thought too deeply in the situation. He might just start liking him because he was a prince. He hated girls like those. All he wanted was somebody who liked him for him, and not being royal. br /br

"Blake! Blake!" Jason came running back. br /br

"What do you want?" she asked. br /br

"We're almost there! We gotta get changed into our uniforms now!" He said giggling while grabbing her hand and running back to their compartment. br /br

"See you soon, Sirius!" She called running out of the compartment. He smiled. He really liked this girl. Sirius closed the compartment door and opened up the trunk. He pulled out his uniform, stripped down to his SpongeBob boxers, and slid into his Gryffindor uniform. Sirius could feel all happiness running back into his body. He was so excited he could not stop smiling. He put his guitar back into his trunk along with his clothes he had been wearing. Fifteen minutes flew by as he stared anxiously out of his window. br /br 

"Look everybody!" a young boy screamed from the corridor outside of Sirius's compartment; Sirius went out to see the commotion "We're here!" Every student on that part of the train flew out of their compartments to glare out of a window to see Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. br /br

The train came to a halt at the platform. Every student ran back into their compartment, grabbed their trunks, and was sent off the train. Sirius handed the train attendant his trunk and owl like everyone else did. First years and those coming from America went with Hagrid like they always did. Sirius tried to find Blake in the crowd, but could not see her. Unfortunately, he saw Courtney Oswald and her snotty friends. She smiled at him flirtatiously; He rolled his eyes. The crowd of students moved up to the horse-less carriages. Sirius could not find anyone he knew, so he hopped in an empty one towards the front. br /br

"This one's good!" He heard somebody say. Not even a minuet later, three boys in his year entered the carriage. First came in an African American boy with dark spiral- curly hair that reached his shoulders with hazel eyes. It was Kevin McKinley with his two friends Jack Handel and George Fritzges. br /br

"So, those girls from America are pretty nice, if ya know what I mean!" Kevin said laughing. "That one girl Blake - she's a nice one!" br /br

"Oh, and what about Brittany." Jack said. "I call her," he laughed. br /br

"She already has a boyfriend, Jack. His name is like, Duncan Brightly or something from America." George said smartly. br /br

"Yeah Blake is nice..." Sirius said sweetly; he started blushing. br /br

"I'm taking it that you have already met her?" Kevin asked. br /br

"Yeah, yeah I did in Diagon Alley last weekend, but I didn't know it was her until today on the train. She came and visited me." He smiled greatly. br /br

"Okay so now Blake is off limits!" George laughed. The carriage stopped; George looked out the window. "We're here, boys!" He said happily. The four boys piled out of the carriage and into the warm castle. They entered the Entrance Hall where Professor Dumbledore stood at the top of the stairs with many of the other teachers at Hogwarts. It took around ten minutes for everyone from second years to seventh years to get out of the carriages and into the Entrance Hall. Once everyone was in, Dumbledore started talking. br /br

"Welcome back, students!" He said greatly. "First, Gryffindors report to the Great Hall; next will be Hufflepuff, followed by Slytherin, and lastly Ravenclaw." br /br

"See you guys around," Sirius said leaving the boys from Hufflepuff. br /br

Kevin called out, "See you around, Princey!" Sirius laughed at the thought of people calling him Princey. It, for some reason, felt better than being called Rich". He followed the group of Gryffindors into the Great Hall. The Great Hall looked just like it always had the first day of school: candles floating in the ceiling and the four gigantically long tables set so perfectly for students. br /br

Sirius found himself sitting in his regular seat next to his regular Quidditch team people. Allison Channing, one of the remaining Chasers, sat across from him. She had long blonde hair that reached halfway down her back. On his right was Steven Herman, a Beater, who had curly blonde hair. Next to Steven sat his girlfriend/other Chaser Beverly Reinard who had gorgeous brown hair that was always pulled back in a ponytail. On Allison's left sat their Seeker John Parente, a boy with jet-black hair, who just started Hogwarts last year because the Sicilian Quidditch was not very popular nor good. br /br

"So how was everyone's summer?" Allison asked as the rest of the school sat down at their tables. br /br

"It was brilliant!" Beverly announced hyperly; Beverly, or Bev, always had energy in her that brightened up the team's spirit. br /br

"Mine was alright," John said gloomily. He was always the quiet one, besides at Quidditch matches. br /br

"It was perfect," Steven said kissing Bev's cheek. Sirius had always felt so left out whenever they would kiss. He never had a girlfriend before. br /br

"Sirius how was your summer?" Bev asked as the last House came into the Great Hall. br /br

"Interesting, sad, happy, tiring, miserable- everything." Sirius said; he could feel his friends' sadness for him. br /br

"I'm sorry for all of your loses," Allison finally said. br /br

"Thanks," Sirius said staring at his empty plate. Suddenly, the doors of the Great Hall opened widely. Professor McGonagall leaded the way of the newcomers to the front of the Great Hall where the sorting hat laid on the stool. He turned around and smiled at them as their wide eyes were looking all around the gigantic dinning hall. Followed by the first years came in the Americans, only thirty-five Americans followed the first years. He caught Blake's eyes; she smiled at him as he smiled back. br /br

"Hey Blake," Sirius said as she walked by; she waved and smiled. He watched her walk up to the front. He could not help but stare at her. She walked perfectly, like an angel, if angels even walked, Sirius thought. br /br

The new students all crowded around the front of the Great Hall where the sorting hat lay. "Welcome to Hogwarts!" Professor McGonagall stated proudly. "When I call your name, please come forward and sit on the stool. I will place the Sorting Hat on your head and it will tell you which House you will be in." Everyone got quiet. "Adams, Kyle." She called. He was placed into Hufflepuff. The list continued on with Arnold Bellis to Jason Snider. Jason was placed in Gryffindor. The names were continued to be called when the last name was Brandon Zimmerman. The only ones left were the students from America. br /br

"I will now start with the second years from Dallas," Professor McGonagall stated. "Alles, Matthew." Matthew was placed in Slytherin, followed by Miranda Coscia in Hufflepuff, John Hebda in Ravenclaw, Danielle Shaver in Gryffindor, and lastly Corey Yedesko into Hufflepuff. Next were the third years which one boy and one girl went to Slytherin, a girl and a boy into Hufflepuff, a boy in Ravenclaw, and one girl in Gryffindor. For the fourth years, Alexis Arnold was placed into Slytherin, Jacob Box went to Ravenclaw, Alex Danko went to Hufflepuff, Timothy Reinard went to Slytherin, and Oliver Snider, who is Blake's brother, was sent to Gryffindor. br /br

Next came the fifth years. Sirius became very excited because he knew Blake was in that year. Christian Amico was placed in Slytherin along with his twin sister Alicia. Bryan Daube was sorted into Ravenclaw, Darla Frania went to Hufflepuff, and next was Andrew Snider, who is Blake's twin brother, was sent to Gryffindor. Sirius got so excited that he was almost off his seat. br /br

"Snider, Halcyon," Professor McGonagall announced; Blake walked to the stool and sat down. Halcyon? br /br

Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on Blake's head. "Your brothers all made it into Gryffindor...as well as YOU!" Cheers from Gryffindor filled the Great Hall. Sirius could not have been any happier. The rest of the years were sorted into their house, but Sirius couldn't listen to who was in which House. He was so excited that Blake, or Halcyon, was placed in Gryffindor. br /br

The feast began once everyone was sorted into his or her Houses. Soon, food appeared all on the tables. Sirius dug into mash potatoes, chicken, turkey, corn, biscuits, jell-O, and everything you could possibly think of. Conversations of their summer adventures were being talked about at his section of the Gryffindor table. br /br

"After going to the Netherlands, we decided to go to the Grand Canyon in the United States," Bev stated happily. She was one of the richest student's in the grade and went everywhere for vacation. br /br

"I stayed at home this summer. Nothing quite exciting happened," John said eating a biscuit. br /br

"When does anything exciting happen with you, John?" Sirius joked with his friends. br /br

"Ha-ha, Sirius," John said sarcastically. "So anyway, when are we having try-outs to take Colby's and Amaris's spots?" The table fell silent. Colby was the one who died this past summer. br /br

"End of this week," Allison said quietly. Sirius's eyes began to fill up; it was the first time Colby did not sit by Sirius at the Welcoming Feast. br /br

"So Sirius," Allison said trying to change the subject, "what did you do this summer?" br /br

"Road Godric a lot, slept a lot, made up some new plays for us, took the boat out some, went to Germany for a weekend with Marissa and Wallis, and that's about it," He answered eating his turkey. "What did you do?" br /br

"Well," Allison said, "my family and I took a tropical trip to the Caribbean for the entire summer." She poked her sunburned face, which made a white mark appear and then turn right back to red. The rest of the feast was talked about plays for the team, new uniforms, new brooms, and the practicing schedule. Sirius, being the captain, was supposed to pay attention, but couldn't. He should have, but he was too busy staring at Blake. br /br

"Sirius? Yo dude! Wake up!" Steven said as he put his fingers in his water and sprinkled the water on Sirius's face; Sirius blinked. br /br

"What?" He said curiously; all of his friends stared at him, glanced at Blake, and then back to him. br /br

"You like her, don't you, Sirius?" Steven asked him. br /br

"Well," he said glancing down at her, "I think she's beautiful. She plays the guitar, was a Chaser at her old school, she's smart, sweet, nice, kind, beautiful..." He was off staring again. br /br

"Sirius!" Steven said throwing water on his face; this time is was less than half of his glass of water. Sirius grabbed his napkin and wiped his face off. "Wait...you said she's a Chaser?" br /br

"Uh… Yeah," Sirius confirmed. br /br

"And we have a Chaser spot open, Sirius," Allison said happily. br /br

"And you like her!" John laughed. br /br

"And she's a babe!" Steven laughed with John and Sirius; Bev did not look so happy with that. "Sorry, but not as hot as my babe!" Steven said kissing Bev's cheek. br /br

"What we mean is that you should ask her to tryout," Allison said. "If you like her that much you should." br /br

"I will," Sirius said taking a bite of his blueberry pie. br /br

"Attention, everyone," Professor Dumbledore called from the staff table; the room fell silent. "I have some important announcements to make. To begin, I am very thankful that we have our American students here with us. I am glad that they are here with their different backgrounds to share with us. I know you all will make them feel at home. Next, tryouts for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team will be held on Wednesday, Hufflepuff on Thursday, Gryffindor on Friday, and Slytherin on Saturday. One more thing, because of this year having the Americans joining this year, we will be having a Welcome Ball next Saturday night from eight o'clock to midnight. Please dress in your dress robes and you will need a date. If you do not have a date, not a problem. Coming alone is always fashionable!" Dumbledore laughed with the school. "One more thing, Professor McGonagall will be having dancing lessons from seven o'clock to nine o'clock every day this week starting tomorrow. Please sign up in your common rooms. Prefects, please show the new students and first years to the common rooms. You are now dismissed." Students all swarmed out of the Great Hall with Prefects in the front showing the First Years and new comers where everything is. br /br

"So we're having a Welcome Ball this year," John said as the group of them, minus Steven and Allison because they are Prefects, walked into the Gryffindor common room. br /br

"Yes, should be brilliant," Bev said as they all sat down on the couches and chairs by the fire. "I'm excited." br /br

"Me too..." Sirius said. "Let's go up to the dorm to see who's got which bed. C'mon guys," Sirius said standing up with John. The boys all walked up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. Sirius found his trunk and owl Toby by his bed which he had since his first year at Hogwarts. br /br

"Sweet!" John said jumping on his bed. Everyone had the same bed as years before. Sirius and John walked over to the bed that had once resigned to Colby finding a trunk that belonged to Andrew Snider. "Isn't that Blake's brother's stuff?" Steven asked. br /br

"Yeah it is," Sirius replied. Sirius started unpacking his items from his trunk. He let Toby out of his cage. The owl immediately flew out of the dormitory to go to the Owlry. Soon, Steven and Andrew joined. The rest of the night was spent playing games like Exploding Snapps and talking about the new Americans. br /br

"Alicia Amico is damn fine!" John laughed with everyone. br /br

"You think that now, John," Andrew said laughing. "She's a jerk. Why else do you think she's in Slytherin!" br /br

"Good point..." John agreed. "How's Darla Frania?" br /br

"She's...well," Andrew laughed. "She's too smart for a boyfriend. Jacob Box who's a fourth year asked her out. She gave him a ten-minute lecture on that her body wasn't ready to have a boyfriend and that if it was that you had to have a higher or same GPA as her. I don't think you would like her, John," Andrew laughed with everyone. br /br

"So Andrew," Steven said eating Berty Bott's Every Flavored Jelly Beans, "who is your sister diggin' these days?" br /br

"She has a boyfriend. He's a sixth year," Andrew said; John and Steven both looked right at Sirius whose heart had dropped to the floor, got stepped on, and sat there to rot. br /br

"A boyfriend?" Steven asked; Andrew nodded in reply. br /br

"Yeah, his name is Scott Smith. He's tall, long hair that's blonde and wavy, in Gryffindor, and played Beater at Dallas. He's a nice, smart, jock." Andrew said. br /br

"That's... great." Sirius said quietly. br /br

"Well would you look at the time…" Steven said looking at his watch. "Already one o'clock. We better hit the sack." br /br

"Yeah," Sirius answered getting under his covers. "Night, everyone." Sirius lay there on his back and listened to his friends snore the night off. 'Why did Steven have to ask such a question?' 'Why did Andrew have to answer so honestly? Couldn't he have just lied?' Questions like that continued to float all around Sirius's head as he fell into a deep sleep. 


	3. Thomas

Sirius woke up with a knot in his stomach. He looked around the dormitory to find only Andrew sitting on his bed putting his socks on. br /br 

"Finally, man. We've been waiting for you to wake up," Andrew said with his northern accent putting on his brown shoes. Sirius didn't say anything; He stood up and threw on his school uniform. Heading down to the common room with Andrew, Sirius talked about Quidditch. br /br 

"So, were you on a team in America?" Sirius asked as they exited through the portrait hole. br /br 

"Well, I was on a community team with my older brother and Blake." br /br 

"Older brother?" Sirius asked curiously; Andrew nodded. "Blake only told me about you, your two younger brothers and the girl twins." br /br 

"She doesn't like our older brother, Thomas. He well, betrayed us, so to say, or at least that's what Blake thinks." Andrew said. br /br 

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked as they entered the entrance hall, heading towards the Great Hall, where they stopped at a windowsill; Andrew looked grazing out the window. br /br 

"He married a Muggle born." br /br 

"That's it?!" Sirius asked shockingly. br /br 

"That's it." Andrew said looking at Sirius. "Well," he said glancing at his wristwatch, "I think it's time that we get to breakfast, don't you think?" Andrew asked; Sirius nodded. Sirius leaded the way through the Great Hall to his group of friends, which, of course, is the Quidditch team. Allison was sitting across from him; Steven on his right; Bev was always two down from himself; John sat next to Allison, because he really could never quite place himself at the table. Andrew took the empty part of the bench next to Sirius and began to eat. Sirius was curiously looking up and down the long Gryffindor table for Blake. He found her, and to his surprise, sitting next to a boy with another couple who he did not recognize. br /br 

"Hey Andrew." Sirius said pouring his orange juice. "Who is sitting with Blake?" br /br 

"That'd be Sabrina Toussaint, Rich Williams, and Scott Smith." Andrew answered continuing to his meal. br /br 

"Is that her boyfriend? Scott?" Steven asked; Sirius's heart sunk. br /br 

"Yeah. That's him with his friends." Sirius just stared; his eyes were not focused, but could still hear every word that was being said around him. He did not want to hear what was all being said. Everything seemed so familiar – him liking a girl who always had a boy around her waist or, what seemed to be, attached to her hand. br /br 

"Sirius!" said a shocking voice. Sirius twitched and turned around. He saw Steven and Bev above him. "C'mon we got to go to class." br /br 

"But I don't have my schedule." Sirius said standing up. br /br 

"Here," Bev said; she handed Sirius a piece of parchment with a chart on it. "While you were in 'La La Land' at breakfast, I turned your schedule into a chart for you to understand better." br /br 

"Thanks, Beverly," Sirius looked at the parchment. Now, they had Herbology with Professor Sprout. "It's brilliant." br /br 

"Anytime," she said as they walked into Herbology finding empty positions next to John and Andrew. It was packed with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff fifth years. Sirius did not mind, though, because anyone was better than the Slytherins. br /br 

Herbology went by quickly due to the fact that Sirius was watching Steven tell Beverly that there was something in her hair when nothing was. Sirius found it quite amusing, but Beverly surely did not. She sat there the entire time pouting; trying to get what she was told that was in her hair out. The gang split up during break: Beverly and Steven went hand-in-hand off on their own on the castle grounds, Blake left the classroom immediately and went jogging into the castle, John went to the library with Allison, and Sirius showed Andrew around the grounds. br /br 

Sirius took Andrew into the courtyard where mostly fifth years were during their break. "Normally after whatever we have first, we all come out here and finish up whatever homework we had forgotten to do or just talk." br /br 

"Cool," Andrew said. Sirius could tell Andrew was not listening. "Who's that?" He was looking at a girl. Sirius looked, too, seeing what he did not want to see. br /br 

"Courtney Oswald. You do not want to get to know her. Believe me." br /br 

"Alright. I'll believe you," Andrew laughed. "I've learned to listen to someone when they say something about someone else. Not just about girls, but in general." br /br 

"Really?" Sirius asked; Andrew nodded. br /br 

"Yeah. With what's going on in my family now- I- I… I just should listen more often. Not listening gets you in trouble." Sirius did not know what to say. He would feel horrible if he were to why. "You probably have no clue what I'm talking about, do you?" br /br 

Sirius laughed. "No. No I don't." br /br 

Andrew sighed. "My brother Thomas. He said she was a good person. But she's Muggle born. So I thought she could never be a good person. Never in a million years. But those million years came quick. She was a good person. A very good person, to be exact, and all I could do were to apologize to Thomas for what I said about how trashy and middle-classed Muggle-borns are. And he accepted my apology, but Halcyon. She still doesn't talk to him. Hates Muggle-borns. She's very conservative but when you tell her she is conservative she flips. She-" br /br 

"I'm Muggle born," Sirius said strongly; Andrew's eyes widened as he looked at Sirius. br /br 

"You…you are?" br /br 

"Yes. And now that we all are explaining things, my grandparents are the King and Queen. King Marvelous and Queen Josephine Morgan. My parents were the prince and princess who disappeared last month. I'm an orphan. I'm a royal orphan prince who has nothing better to do than to be stuck in this ancient castle when he could be looking for whomever it was who made my parents disappear. I'm an only child who has been raised by his butler and maid while his parents were 'on the job' every day but on holidays. I'm not good with girls. I get afraid when I talk to them besides your sister. When I talk to Blake or whatever her name is I'm so comfortable. She makes me feel great. But last night you said she had a boyfriend and I was crushed. And now that she hates Muggle-borns, I am totally smashed on the ground like an elephant smashing a peanut shell." Sirius breathed. Sirius was never a very open person about his personal life. But something inside him made him explode with all of his problems to someone who he had just met. br /br 

"Wow. Well, that's enough to take in…." Andrew said quietly. "So…so you're _the _prince?" br /br 

"Yep, that's me." Sirius replied. br /br 

"Does Blake know?" br /br 

"No, and I don't want her to find out, alright? Not yet, at least." br /br 

"Alright. I won't tell her. But you know, keeping something that big private to one person is pretty hard to do." Andrew said and Sirius knew he was right. The bell rang and they both stood up. br /br 

John understood what Sirius was saying. "I'm proud of you for saying that to him," he said, "but that way, I dunno, mate. Sort of…harsh." It was late at night and Sirius, John, and Allison sat in the deserted common room. The fire was dying out and Allison was reading her Ancient Ruins book, continuously glancing up at the conversation. br /br 

"'Harsh'?" Sirius questioned. "How do you think I said it?" br /br 

"Well, knowing you, you told him in a harsh way. With your demanding voice you make whatever you say true, whether it is or not. br /br 

"But I told him the truth!" Sirius demanded. br /br 

"I know you did, but how do you know what the truth really is? I'd hate to be the one to tell you this, but how much do you really know about your parents' disappearance? Their life was pretty private, especially even for royalty." br /br 

"'Private?' I know everything about them." br /br 

"Sirius," Allison batted in, "do you really know everything about that day? Honestly, do you believe what the media said? Did a so-called sniper actually kill them? That's what the newspapers said…and yet there were no pictures… Your parents and yourself are heavily guarded. And do you think how Colby died was an accident? You two really don't think, do you?" br /br 

It was quiet; no one said anything. The name 'Colby' hasn't been talked about since Steven had asked about it at the feast. Sirius could hear the fire crackling and footsteps coming from the girl's dormitory stairs. It was Mary, John's twin, and Lena, John's sister who is in her seventh year. Lena was holding a rolled up parchment with tears in her dark eyes. br /br 

"John, it's from Dad." Lena walked over to the couches where they were sitting and handed John the parchment. "Ma's sick." br /br 

Sirius and Allison both looked at one another with wide eyes. John was reading the letter with a strong face. br /br 

"He wants us to see McGonagall. Now." Mary said in a shaky voice. Sirius noticed that she was in her pajamas and tennis shoes. John was still in his robes minus his Gryffindor tie, which was dangling from both sides of his shoulders. Soon, all of the Parente's came down the dormitory stairways. Charlie, Guy, Tony, Joe, Louis, Chris, and Mike came from the boys' dormitory and joined them in their pajamas in the common room. br /br 

"Alright." John stood up and glanced goodbye to Allison and Sirius. All of the Parente siblings walked out of the common room while Sirius and Allison watched. br /br 

"Their mom is sick?" Sirius asked Allison in a low voice. br /br 

"Sirius, this is getting back to what I had just said, basically. You need to open your eyes. Get a reality check. Look at your surroundings. You don't even know what's going on." Allison stood up, gathered her books and put them in her bag. "I'm going to talk to McGonagall tomorrow morning about everything. There is no way I am allowing Quidditch tryouts next week without John here because of your pigheadedness. Think tonight, Morgan. Think." She walked away to her dormitory leaving Sirius in the common room alone. Sirius knew when Allison called him by his last name that she was serious. Sirius slowly got up off the couch and made his way to bed. In the dormitory, John's bed was still freshly made. Sirius walked to his trunk, changed into his pajamas, and crawled into bed. Steven was still awake because Sirius could not hear his distinctive snoring. Unfortunately, without thinking of what Allison had said, Sirius fell into a deep sleep.


	4. John's Surprise

The week passed slowly, just like every first week of school. It was Friday after supper and Sirius found himself walking up towards the Gryffindor tower with Allison. br /br 

"I got a letter from Mary today. Butterbeer." She said as they came to the portrait of the Fat Lady that guarded the hole to the Gryffindor common room. The portrait swung open and they entered. It was packed with first years to third years. Sirius and Allison walked by the crowds and went to Sirius's dormitory. br /br 

"How are they?" Sirius asked dumping his bag into his trunk. br /br 

"Good. John won't write. He's been through so much." Sirius looked up at Allison and there was a tear in her eye. "Their mom isn't well at all. McGonagall says they should be back sometime this weekend or the beginning of next week." br /br 

"He better be back soon. Quidditch is coming up. We should get a back-up just incase." br /br 

"Sirius!" Allison roared. "All you care about is that idiotic sport! You don't even care that he is hurting inside!" She stood up and stormed out of the dormitory. Sirius sat there and shrugged his shoulder. Him being Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team makes him worry about Quidditch. Soon enough, Steven and Andrew ran up the stairs and into the dormitory. br /br 

"What did you do, man?!" Steven laughed and sat on Sirius's bed. "You really pissed off Allison. She won't even talk to us." br /br 

"'Us'?" Andrew laughed. "You mean no one. She stormed right out of the common room and almost knocked over a first year." br /br 

"She probably ran right to her sacred spot." br /br 

"The library." Steve and Sirius said together; they laughed. Whenever Allison got mad at someone or needed to think, her first place she would run to would be the library. br /br 

"Anyway, what did you do?" Andrew asked. br /br 

"Nothing…well, she was telling me that Parente's might be back this weekend or this week. And I guess I said something about Quidditch that got to her head and well-" br /br 

"She flipped." Steven said. "Something Allison would do. But I don't get it. She's the only Quidditch player I know that doesn't take it seriously. We're all 'play Quidditch or go home'. She's all 'keep Quidditch close, but your friends closer.' Which I don't understand because we're all Quidditch fans." br /br 

"She needs to sort out her priorities." Andrew said. br /br 

"Yeah," Sirius said, "she does, but maybe we should talk to Bev about it. She knows Allison more than any of us." They stood up and headed out of the dormitory. br /br 

"Yeah, and she knows what goes through a girl's mind…" Andrew laughed as they walked down the spiral stairs into the common room. Bev was sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace with Blake dong homework. Sirius held back to let Andrew and Steven lead. Andrew sat in between the two girls while Steven sat on Bev's other side while Sirius sat comfortably on the air chair. "Can we ask you a question?" br /br 

"If it's about Allison, she's pissed at you three." The boys laughed. "Did I say something funny?" br /br 

"Naw, sorry, Bev," Steven said. "We thought she'd be pissed." br /br 

"Well, she has a right to be." Blake said rudely. "Seriously. Life doesn't revolve around Quidditch." She was looking at Sirius, but his eyes were not focused at her. He was staring blankly in the fire, but completely understood what was happening in the conversation. "Life revolves around friends and family." Sirius glanced at Blake; Her face looked how Sirius never saw. She was angry, and Sirius could see it in her eyes. Without saying anything, Sirius stood up and walked out of the common room. If he were to say something, it would probably bring out Blake's secrets that Sirius probably should not have ever heard. br /br 

"Where's he going?" Blake asked. br /br 

"Just let him go and vent…" Andrew patted his twin's back. Nobody stopped him, because Sirius is known for getting angrier at people when they stop him from doing what he thinks is right, whether it is or is not. br /br 

Sirius was walking faster than ordinary. He was on a mission, and that was to find Allison. First place that came to his mind was the library. As he entered, he found Allison at a small table towards the back corner. Sirius stopped and stared at her. br /br 

"Can I help you, dear?" asked Madam Pince, the librarian behind her desk. br /br 

"Oh, no, no. I'm fine. Thanks." Sirius said and he walked over to Allison. She looked up over her book as he was arriving and peered back down. br /br 

"What do you want?" She said rudely closing the book and folding her arms. br /br 

"Can I sit down?" Sirius said gesturing to the empty seat in front of her. br /br 

"If you're not going to be a jerk…" Sirius sat down and Allison rolled her eyes. "What do you want?" She repeated. br /br 

"I'm giving you my apology. I'm sorry for being an asshole." br /br 

"And…" br /br 

"And… That I know life doesn't revolve around Quidditch." br /br 

"And…" br /br 

"And…" Sirius thought. What was Allison getting at? "And…I have no clue. But I do know I'm sorry. If there's anything I could do…" br /br 

"I quit." br /br 

"Quit? Quit what?" Sirius asked. br /br 

"Quidditch. I quit. Find a new Chaser. Good luck." She gathered up her books and walked right out of the library. Sirius watched her walk out in awe. She quit. The best Chaser to ever play on Hogwarts ground quit. br /br 

Sirius sat in the library for a while thinking of what he would have to do next. He had to be sitting in there for at least an hour when he heard a voice behind him. br /br 

"C'mon, man. Let's go." Sirius turned around, seeing a Sicilian Quidditch shirt. He looked up and there was John. He had a faint smile on his dark skinned face. John looked as if he hadn't gotten a full nine hours of sleep in days. Sirius jumped out of his chair and hugged John. br /br 

"What are you doing here?" Sirius said letting go. br /br 

"Getting you. It's almost curfew. We have to be in Gryffindor tower now." John said leaving the library; Sirius followed. br /br 

"No, what I mean is why are you at Hogwarts?" br /br 

"To learn. It's where I go to school." John said seriously. br /br 

"John, seriously. Be honest. You can tell me these things." br /br 

John took a deep breath and stopped walking. He sat on a windowsill and Sirius joined. "Ma passed away Wednesday. Allison and McGonagall's letters got in late. Those were sent Tuesday, but the owls can't fly from Sicily to England in a day…" br /br 

"John, I'm so sorry, man. I know what it's like to lose somebody." Sirius said hugging John. br /br 

"I knew you'd understand." John stood up with his hands in his pockets. "I was actually on my way to find Allison, because I figured she'd be in the library, but then I saw you and I knew something had to have happened." br /br 

"Something did happen." Sirius said walked up the stairs to the Gryffindor tower. "Allison and I were talking and I sort of said something about Quidditch and me finding somebody new to replace you and well, she wasn't very fond of me talking about Quidditch when you were hurting." br /br 

"Something Allison would complain about." John laughed slightly. They reached the portrait door. The Fat Lady said looking at John, "Password, dear?" John shrugged. br /br 

"Butterbeer." Sirius answered. The portrait swung open. Sirius walked in first, seeing Beverly, Allison, Blake, Andrew, and Steven where they were when Sirius left. Allison did not even look at Sirius, but Bev's expression who she looked at who was entering after Sirius made Allison react. br /br 

"John!" Beverly said running over to them. Bev jumped into John's arms for a warming hug. "What…Why.." br /br 

"I'll explain later, Bev. Don't worry, we're here. We're home." He said softly. Allison was the next to embrace John. She whispered something in John's ear that Sirius could not hear. John replied with "Yes, but I'm fine." Allison burst into tears. John sat down on the couch next to Andrew and Steven. Sirius was back in his armchair, sharing it with Allison's scruffy brown cat Phoebe. br /br 

"So, did I miss anything?" John asked smiling, very comforting, but unbelievable to Allison's ears. br /br 

"John, please. Just tell us. I know something is wrong. McGonagall said that your letter said you would be back this weekend or next week. Mine did, as well." Allison was worried with tears already in her eyes. br /br 

"Ma passed away Wednesday. Your letters were supposed to be sent out Tuesday, but the owls aren't good with traveling long distances." John's owls were flying to Hogwarts from Serradifalco, Sicily, where John lives in the holiday breaks. "Mary and the rest are coming tomorrow, but I had to get out of the house." Everyone was quiet. Allison was holding in her tears with Beverly; Blake's sad stare was gazing into the fire; Steven and Andrew were both looking at the floor; and as for Sirius, he was stroking Phoebe, trying not to shed tears. br /br 

"I'm so sorry, man." Andrew said hugging John. "If there is anything I could do for you…. j-just ask. I'm here." br /br 

"Thanks, everyone…." John said smiling. Sirius knew John's pain, but Sirius never dealt it in this approach. Smiling never came across Sirius when this happened to him, but John, all he could do was smile. "So, what did I miss in Potions? Any good fights? Sirius, did ya get a detention yet?" br /br 

"No, I actually didn't." Sirius smiled and John as he smiled back. br /br 

"Any missed Quidditch practices?" John asked. br /br 

"None at all." Allison answered. "I'm…I'm going to bed." She gathered up her books and was off to the dormitory. br /br 

Beverly looked at Blake and she nodded. "Same here," Beverly said kissing John lightly on the cheek for sympathy and ruffling her boyfriend's hair. Bev and Blake walked up to the dormitory leaving the males in the common room. br /br 

It was quiet after the girls left, which was odd for such a tight group of friends. Sirius was thinking of why John came earlier than his siblings, Andrew was fiddling with the drawstrings on his Hogwarts sweatpants, Steven was almost asleep, opening his eyes every so often, and as for John, he was staring blankly into the fire. br /br 

"Lena isn't coming to Hogwarts for another week." John said suddenly. Steven sat up quickly, wiping the saliva off his chin and onto the couch. "Pa wants her to stay and help with Angelo, Mario, and Giovanni." Angelo, Mario, and Giovanni are Sirius's other remaining siblings who did not attend Hogwarts yet. Angelo and Mario are nine while Giovanni is seven. "But Charlie, Guy, Tony, Joe, Mary, Louis, Chris, and Mike are coming tomorrow morning." br /br 

"Why'd you come today?" Steven asked. br /br 

"I was going insane. My brothers and sisters were all sad, my dad was…just so not-dad-like, and I couldn't take it anymore. I had to be…. home. I had to be here. I really do not want to go home over the holiday vacation. All we talk is Italian and my mother hated us having to speak Italian at the house. She loved English. Fancied it. And I can't go home knowing I have to speak Italian when she wants us to speak English." br /br 

"Have you told your dad this?" Andrew asked. br /br 

"No, I haven't. He would flip. Ma has tried to talk to him about it, but they would get into arguments and Ma would cry, I would cry… It was bad." br /br 

"But John, I'm sure your dad wants you home on vacation, especially at a time like this." Sirius said. "I'm going home on vacation because I know Marissa and Wallis would be extremely mad at me if I stayed at Hogwarts." br /br 

"My father wouldn't care. It'd be one less child to feed. He'd be happy. Feeding thirteen kids plus him isn't easy. One less would be like heaven to this old man." John was getting furious. br /br 

"John, don't talk about your father that way!" Sirius spit out. "If I were you, I'd be home in a heartbeat. When this happened to me, it was worse. I lost both of my parents. You still have one. You can still bond with him. I can't. Mine are dead. Gone forever. br /br 

"How do you know?" John asked. "You don't even know how they died, do you?" Sirius was getting angry. "They could still be here, and you know it." Sirius's heart was pounding. "Oh, c'mon, Sirius. You know I'm right..." br /br 

Sirius ran his fingers through his dark brown hair. "I know you're right. But… but how do you find out if someone is dead when you can't find them?" br /br 

"I don't know…" Andrew said. "But what you do need to do is start asking questions. But not now." Andrew said standing up stretching. "I'm tired. See you guys in the morning." John followed Andrew to the dormitory and soon after them Sirius joined, leaving Phoebe resting in the armchair for the bitter cold fall's night. 


	5. Quidditch Drama

The cold days of fall started drifting into the school. Sirius woke up with a pain in his chest as if he was recovering from a stab. Slowly the teenager rolled out of bed, finding himself alone, which was happening frequently. His watch read eleven thirty five; Sirius laughed. _Earliest I've woken up on the weekends so far_, he thought getting changed. Sirius hurried down the steps only to find everyone in a crowd around the Quidditch players. Steven was standing on a chair trying to silent the crowd. John stood there laughing with Allison and Beverly. Andrew was in the crowd with Blake and his American friends. Sirius slowly walked up to the front, tapped Steven on the shoulder who immediately jumped off the chair. Sirius stood on the chair and by him just standing there, the room fell silent. br /br 

"Alright…" Sirius started. "Thanks for um, coming. I'm Sirius Morgan, Keeper and team Captain…" Whispers started scattering around the room with eyes on him. "Yeah… We're sorry we had to cancel tryouts yesterday, due to one member missing in action." More whispers. "Is there something funny?" The room fell silent. "Colin Connors." br /br 

A tall, blonde boy in his seventh year peeked his head up from his girlfriend's at which he was whispering in. "Yeah, man?" br /br 

"Is something going on back there?" br /br 

"By what do you mean, Sirius?" br /br 

"I think you know. Why is everyone whispering?" The eyes in the room were staring at Sirius. br /br 

"Nothing, your highness." br /br 

"'Your highness'?" Sirius repeated. br /br 

"Yes, your highness. You're a prince, aren't you? The younger years are starting to realize that you are the prince." Whispers turned into regular cafeteria conversations. Sirius's face was still. "So are you, or aren't you? I heard you're king now. Is that true?" br /br 

Sirius tried to keep a straight face. He knew the older years would start to talk about this and that the younger years would soon find out. But not this fast… wanted to be more into the semester…. Sirius's face was still… breathing heavily, trying to block out all the whispers and giggling of young boys and girls…His eyes were out of focus when someone pulled on his sleeve. He blinked viciously and turned down. It was Allison. br /br 

"Get down. We'll finish this." Allison said helping him down. "Steven, take him to the dormitory. Now." Steven took Sirius's arm and leaded him into the boys' dormitory. Walking away, he saw people staring at him… Sirius closed his eyes and let Steven lead. He could hear Allison trying to calm the crowd. br /br 

"Listen, everyone… Quidditch tryouts will be today at four o'clock… The following spots are open…" br /br 

Sirius was running up the steps in anger. Steven sat him on his bed. "Sirius… I'm… I'm so sorry." br /br 

"You don't understand… I thought this year would be different. I didn't want to be harassed. I knew people would start to question and wonder… About Colby, my parents, me being the Prince now… I didn't know what to expect. I mean, I expected people to come to me personally, not in front of everyone. That's why I blanked. I couldn't take it. It felt like I was in a blurry dream where I just wanted to wake up and find myself out of that room…" br /br 

"Well…." Steven said. br /br 

"And shit!" Sirius yelled hitting his pillow. br /br 

"What?" br /br 

"Blake… Halcyon… whatever. She was there. She knows now…" br /br 

"You can still have a chance, mate." br /br 

"But that's not how I wanted to get her. I wanted her to like me for me not because I'm the Prince. I wanted her to see the real me and not my crown. You don't get it… You just play Quidditch. I play Quidditch and rule a kingdom. Girls come from all around and all they want is to be queen. I liked this girl… a lot. And now if she starts to like me it's probably because of me being Prince, not because I'm Sirius. And-" br /br 

"Relax, Captain. Just relax… Now, who knows? Blake might have liked you before she knew about the prince thing. I liked you before I knew you were a prince, remember?" Sirius laughed slightly. He met Steven on the train. Then, Steven was the dorkiest looking kid Sirius had ever seen – glasses, messy hair, and pants pulled up past his belly button with suspenders. "Maybe you only hung out with me for my ultra coolness, or that you needed a friend. But whatever it was, I didn't know you were a prince and I still liked you." br /br 

"True, but I told you at least going into the second semester, not the second week. You had time to know me. Blake didn't." br /br 

"Alright, you got a point. But she already has an idea about who you are. You aren't stuck up like the media version of a prince or king. You're more 'I'm Sirius Morgan - kid at day, prince at night.'" br /br 

"Right…" br /br 

"Alright… I'm hungry. I didn't have breakfast. Allison woke me up and forced me down in the common room at 11:30. So let's go get some lunch." Steven left the dormitory with Sirius right behind him. The crowd had dispersed from the common room, with some studying or playing games. Those eyes immediately fell onto Sirius. br /br 

"Ignore them… c'mon. I'm sure you're used to that by now." Steven said as they left the common room. br /br 

The two walked down to the Great Hall, mostly passing young Gryffindors who stared and whispered about Sirius. br /br 

"Shut up!" He was stopped on one of the moving staircases. Everyone froze with their eyes right one Sirius. He breathed deeply and ran down the stairs, soon followed by Steven. Sirius busted the doors of the courtyard wide open. Hands running through his hair he walked in circles around the fountain, continuously saying short phrases under his breath. He sat down on the edge of the fountain. i _What the hell is going to happen to me_, /i Sirius thought. i _Why am I here? Why… why is this happening to me? Why such horrible things… what did I do to deserve it? /i _ He looked around and saw himself in the deserted courtyard. i _Was it like this when I got here?_ /i Soon, the door Sirius flew out of opened. He looked, seeing Steven, John, and Allison. br /br 

"C'mon over, guys…" Sirius said. The three walked over, Steven and Allison sitting on his left and John on his right. "I don't know what is going on…" br /br 

"Sirius, you're just stressed." Allison said rubbing his back. "You need to take a set-back… Look at what happened, what is happening, and how you can make it better." br /br 

"That's not gonna help him," John said. "That's going to stress him more. He needs to chill. He needs a good Quidditch practice. Anyone wanna hit the pitch?" br /br 

"I think this isn't a good time, John. Maybe at tryouts…" Allison said. br /br 

"So did you quit?" Sirius asked. br /br 

"Well, do you want me back, Captain?" br /br 

"Yes… yes, I do. You are the best out there, and we losing would not make my moods any better," Sirius laughed. br /br 

"Very true, and we wouldn't want that." The group laughed, slightly. "Well, I'm going to lunch, if anyone wants to join." Allison said standing up. John soon got up and walked into the Great Hall with Allison. Steven stood up and looked at Sirius. br /br 

"I'll be there in a few, okay?" Sirius said. br /br 

"Alright, mate." Steven ruffled Sirius's hair and walked away.

Sirius walked out of the courtyard and onto the bridge. He leaned against the old, cold stone staring down into the valley. Sirius was out of it. He stared – his mind was blank, eyes unfocused. br /br 

"Hi." Sirius blinked and jumped. To his right was Blake Snider. br /br 

"Oh, hi." br /br 

"Sorry I scared you." br /br 

"Oh, it's alright. I wasn't scared." br /br 

"You sure about that?" Blake looked at him with a half smile. br /br 

"Positive. I don't get scared." br /br 

"Right…." Blake's voice was followed by an awkward silence. br /br 

"So… I'm sorry." Sirius said weakly. br /br 

"Sorry? About what?" br /br 

"About… lying to you. I've been lying to you this whole time." br /br 

"Sirius, what do you mean?" br /br 

"The whole me being a prince thing. I never told you so that pretty much means I lied to you." br /br 

"Sirius, I don't care that you're a prince. Well, sure, it is probably a big part of your life, but being a prince is not you. It is just a title such as mister or misses…You didn't necessarily lie, either. I sort of figured that you had a good reason for not telling me…" Sirius took a deep breath. He was still staring out into the valley while he knew Blake's eyes were on his. br /br 

He looked at her, deep into her eyes. "There is a reason, and I hope it is good enough." Sirius took a deep breath. i _Tell her, you git. Tell her_. /i "I was afraid you wouldn't like me. I mean, well, I didn't want you liking me just because I'm a prince. I thought it would not let you get to know me how I want you to. I wanted you to find out about this prince deal a little later in the year… like as we were getting off the train in the spring." She laughed, and by Sirius's surprise, he laughed, too. br /br 

"Sirius, we all want to keep secrets from new people. When I moved here I thought 'yes! No more Halcyon! Hello Blake!' But that didn't happen… Right when they were saying full names the first thing I thought of was 'Shit. There it goes' and I'm sure you felt the same when that jackass said that this morning." br /br 

"Yeah… yeah I did." br /br 

"So… I think now, Sirius, we shouldn't hide anything from certain people because it will always backfire." br /br 

"Well agreed." The pair laughed. "So… tryouts are today." br /br 

"Yes they are, and I am completely ready." br /br 

"Good, 'cause I think we need someone like you on the team." They started walking into the Great Hall together. br /br 

"Someone like me? What's that supposed to mean?" br /br 

"Well," Sirius said holding the door open for her, "someone who is mysterious as me…lots of hidden artifacts that not many know about." br /br 

"Right… Are you going to stick with that answer, or did you use that as a cover-up?" br /br 

"Oh, total cover-up!" They laughed sitting down at the Gryffindor table with Allison, John, Bev, Andrew, and Steven. br /br 

"Well, well, well! Seems like things are peachy with you two." Steven said grabbing the potato chips. br /br 

"Yeah… just peachy, Steven." Sirius half smiled across the table at him. br /br 

After lunch, the group departed into their separate groups. Steven and Beverly took their daily stroll around the grounds. No one exactly knew where that was, and all hoped they did not run into them. John went to Professor McGonagall's office to greet his family, Blake ran off with her brother Andrew and his friends, and Sirius and Allison went in the common room to look at the tryout list. br /br 

"It looks here like we have many fourth years trying out," Allison said counting up the names. "John's and Blake's brothers…Some Trevor kid….Kippie Steele…" Sirius snickered. "What?" br /br 

"Kippie… funny name, that's all." br /br 

"Oh, and you think Sirius is cute?" br /br 

"Hey, I like my name, thank you very much!" Sirius laughed snatching the sheet from Allison. Sirius read the list of those who signed up. "Whoa… look at this." Allison took the sheet. br /br 

"What am I looking at?" br /br 

"Scott Smith. He signed up for both. Can he do that?" br /br 

"I don't see why not. McGonagall never said he can't." br /br 

"Shit." br /br 

"What's that for?" br /br 

"Well, it's Scott Smith. You know… Blake's whatever." br /br 

"Oh, her boyfriend." br /br 

"Not boyfriend. They're not dating." br /br 

"Yeah, well then I guess he wasn't giving her CPR just yesterday…" br /br 

"Funny, Allison. Real funny…" Sirius slumped in his chair. br /br 

"It's not that bad of a list, actually… Sure, most of these fourth years we could eliminate right off the bat, some might not show up, so we're pretty much down to, for Chasers, Blake, Scott and Autumn…" br /br 

"And for Beaters are Scott and Colin." br /br 

"Oh, well would you look at that! Your two favorite Gryffindors!" br /br 

"Funny, Allison….Well," Sirius said gazing at his watch, "we should get ready. I'll meet you at the pitch in 30, then, okay?" br /br 

"Alright," Allison said taking the papers up to her dormitory with her. Sirius walked up the stone stairs to his dormitory finding John lying on his bed. br /br 

"Hey Johnny," Sirius said walking to his wardrobe. He pulled out his practice uniform from last year. It still had the smell of the pitch, and a big grass stain on his sleeve. br /br 

"Hey Sirius... I don't want to go to tryouts." br /br 

"Alright...why?" br /br 

"Well, it's just that my family is back, and I saw my dad today." br /br 

"Oh, how is he?" br /br 

"Well, pissed at me. When I was home I sorta… ran away. I caught a ride by Floo Powder with Professor Sprout. I saw her in my neighborhood. I didn't tell anyone this, but professors have been coming in and helping us out. They've been cooking for us nonstop, bringing work, doing laundry… things that my mom did. I was too embarrassed to tell everyone that before." br /br 

"It's alright, mate. I won't say anything…" Sirius put on his robes and walked over to grab his new Firebolt. br /br 

"Thanks. I really just need to lie down for a while… think things through, you know." br /br 

"I know… I got to get going to the pitch." br /br 

"Alright… I'll talk to you later. Good luck picking the new guys. I'm sure I'll like whoever they are." br /br 

"Alright… see you, Johnny." br /br 

Sirius walked out of the dormitory and down the stairs into the common room. He saw the fourth years all huddled together with their hand-me-down school brooms. Standing by the portrait hole was the Quidditch team all in their practice uniforms with their brooms. br /br 

"Ready, Captain?" Steven said. br /br 

"Ready." Sirius led the team down to the pitch with those trying out in the back. Walking on the field, Blake, Scott, Colin and Autumn were already there flying around. Sirius watched Blake as she flew with Scott. She had perfect form. Every dip and dive was flawlessly done. They landed on the field and walked over to the group. br /br 

"Hello, everyone. As you know, I am Sirius Morgan, Captain of the Gryffindor team. When I call your name, please say here…..Trevor…." No answer. br /br 

"He's not doing it," said Oliver Snider, Blake's younger brother. br /br 

"Thank you, Oliver…Kippie…"Sirius smiled; No answer. br /br 

"Neither is she." br /br 

"Alright, thanks again, Oliver….Blake." br /br 

"Here." She smiled at Sirius who blushed. br /br 

"Alright… Scott Smith is here, so is Autumn Maas…Oliver is obviously here….Oliver, do you know if Guy or Charlie are coming?" br /br 

"Well, I haven't talked to them, and they just got in today so I'm guessing they're not." br /br 

"True….Oh and Colin Connors is here so I guess that is everyone." He folded up the papers and handed them to Allison. br /br 

Allison started "We're going to get the Chasers into the air to see how well you are with shooting as well as getting along with the other Chasers, which are I, Allison, and Beverly Reinard. Sirius will be in goal. Steven will be taking any Beaters who are interested in learning over on the other side of the field. Are there any questions?" Scott Smith raised his hand. "Yes, Scott?" br /br 

"Well, I'm trying out for both." br /br 

"Oh, yes, I see that you are. Well," She said checking him out. His arms were buff and it looked as if he were 175 pounds of muscle, "you seem quite large for a chaser, if I do say so myself." br /br 

"I was a Beater back at Dallas, and for two years I played Chaser." br /br 

"That was in America, boy," Steven said. "You're across seas, now. They were lucky enough to even have a Quidditch team at Dallas. We have an explosive amount of people who want to tryout for the Chaser position so you would most likely get on the team if you tryout for the Beater position." br /br 

"Is that so?" Scott said getting in Steven's face. Sirius stepped in the middle. br /br 

"It's your choice, Smith, but they both are right. We do need someone small for the Chaser job and you do have a good chance for the Beater position." br /br 

Scott took a step back. "Alright, I'll try for just the Beater spot." br /br 

"Okay, now Smith, Oliver Snider, and Colin, go with Steven." br /br 

"Wait!" Oliver said. "I decided I don't want to tryout." br /br 

"Are you sure?" Blake said. br /br 

"Positive." Oliver said walking over to the bench. He sat down and placed his broom next to him. br /br 

"Alright… continue."

br /br 

Allison and Beverly took Blake and Autumn through a series of exercises – passing, shooting, eye contact and speed. Blake owned everything but passing. She had the skill that once she had the ball she could take it all the way. Autumn, on the other hand, had lack of speed and shooting, which are keys in a Chaser. Sirius, from his position on the field, could see Scott with his tremendous muscles being so powerful to knock over all of the obstacles Steven set up. As soon as Scott was finished, Colin went through the exercises and did the same, if not better, than Scott. Sirius felt the competition getting harder and harder. br /br 

After everyone showed what they had, Sirius blew the whistle and everyone went back down to the pitch. John was found sitting next to Oliver on the bench. John stood up and walked over with the group. br /br 

"I've been here the whole time, just was too lazy to get out there." John laughed with the team. br /br 

"Everyone did really well today. If you all could go back to the common room or Great Hall while we figure it all out that would be great. We will have the team posted after supper in the common room. Thank you." Sirius said. Those who tried out departed quickly, including Blake who walked up to the castle with Oliver. br /br br /br 

"So, who's it going to be?" John asked. The remaining players were in the boys' dormitory with notes taken from the tryouts. br /br 

"Well, we should pick the Chaser first" Allison said. "I vote on Blake." br /br 

"Blake," said John. br /br 

"Blake," said Steven. br /br 

"Blake," agreed Beverly, "and obviously Sirius says Blake." The team laughed; Sirius's white cheeks turned pink. br /br 

"Anyways…" Sirius continued. "Beater. Who are we going to chose for Beater…?" br /br 

"I honestly think they are even," said Steven. "Not as good as me, but they're both wicked close. They are so even like my G.P.A to the number Pi." br /br 

"That really didn't make any logical sense because isn't your GPA in the two's?" Allison said smartly. br /br 

"Just go with me, here!" Steven laughed with everyone. "But I'm serious, guys. They are so even it's insane. I think we need to vote on this one by who we think will fit in with us, who will listen to us, help us…. And I think Colin would be a jackass the whole time because for one, he hates Sirius, and two, he's older so he'll feel like he's in charge when really Sirius is." br /br 

"So what you're saying is you want Scott?" John asked. br /br 

"Yup. Put Smitty down for me." Steven said. br /br 

"I agree with Steven." John said. br /br 

"I'm undecided," Bev replied. br /br 

"I'm with Beverly…. I mean, just look at the tension between Colin and Sirius and Scott and Sirius." Allison said. "Neither looks good to me. So I guess it's down to Sirius. Do you want a jackass or someone who you can't just stand because of Blake?" br /br 

"I hate being Captain…." Sirius said under his breath. "To be honest, I want Scott because of his attitude, but I want Colin because he's aggressive." br /br 

"But also think about Scott having background playing and he was a Chaser so he has to be somewhat aggressive." Beverly stated. br /br 

"Alright then…. I can tell that you all are for either one. So, because I am Captain, I get to make the final decisions. You will all find out when everyone else finds out, which is after dinner." Sirius gathered up all of the papers and walked out of the dormitory, soon being followed by the group. br /br 

"Sirius," Allison catching up with him as he walked out of the common room, "choose wisely. Don't choose Colin just because you don't want Scott and Blake being together." Sirius quickened his steps and was headed for the library. He found an empty table in the back corner of the library calling his name. Sirius sat down and spread the papers all over the table. br /br 

An hour past, and it had already become six thirty. In the next five to ten minutes, students would be settled in their common rooms doing homework, hanging out, or playing games. Sirius still had not made a decision. _Do I pick someone who likes me, but I don't like, or someone who hates me and won't listen to me,_ Sirius thought. He knew the right answer, but he did not want to pick him because of Blake. Blake and Scott were dating. Sirius wanted Blake to himself during Quidditch times, but with Scott on the team he knew their relationship would grow. Doing what is best for the team, Sirius wrote the following on a piece of parchment: br /br 

Congratulations to the 2006-2007 Gryffindor Quidditch Team br /br  
Keeper – Sirius Morgan, Captain br  
Seeker – John Parente br  
Chasers – Allison Channing br 

- Beverly Reinard br 

- Halcyon "Blake" Snider br 

Beaters – Steven Herman br 

- Scott Smith br /br 

Practice schedule will be up by the middle of next week. br 

- Sirius Morgan br /br 

Sirius gathered up all of his belongings and headed for the common room. "Butterbeer," Sirius said to the Fat Lady in the portrait covering the Gryffindor common room entrance. She opened, and Sirius headed in. The common room was packed, some looking at the bulletin board with disappointed faces. Sirius pushed through the crowd. He got the board and posted the parchment. As the crowd pushed closer to the board, Sirius pushed himself out of there. He went to sit on the vacant couch, which was just departed by the Quidditch team. br /br 

Soon, the team came back with its newest members, Blake and Scott. br /br 

"Thank you so much, Captain!" Blake said leaning over the back of the couch, giving Sirius a hug from behind; He blushed lightly, hoping Scott would not see his reddened cheeks. Scott came around the other side of the couch and shook his hand. br /br 

"Thanks, dude. I know I'll make you proud." Sirius just smiled at Scott as he said that. br /br 

As the excitement of the common room calmed down, the crowds got smaller with most of the younger years going to bed at their dormitory curfew time. It quickly became one o'clock in the morning when Sirius saw John falling asleep on the armchair, Beverly snoozing away on Steven as he stroked her arm, Allison putting the last log on the fire, and Blake resting her gorgeous face on Scott's shoulder. i _Guess I should be getting used to that /i ,_ Sirius thought resting his head on his hand. br /br 

"Well, well, well…" said a voice from behind. The team quickly turned around and looked behind the couch. There stood Colin Connors and his crew, Jackie Ellis, Kevin Pierce, and Max Stredny. "Look who we've got here - Prince Sirius with his Quidditch team. Don't you think there is something missing, guys?" br /br 

"I certainly do-," said Kevin Pierce. He was a little shorter than Colin with black messy hair, "a good Beater." br /br 

"No, I think you're wrong," said Jackie Ellis, the shortest of the group. "Don't you mean great Beater?" br /br 

"Yeah," said Max. "If you're going to say anything at all, then you might as well say it correctly." They laughed, but the Quidditch team did not. br /br 

"I think my pals are right, now, aren't they, Sirius?" Colin said with a smirk on his face. Sirius stood up and looked at Colin; he could hear the rest of them standing up right behind him. i _Thank God there's a fuckin' couch between us /i ,_ Sirius thought with anger. br /br 

"Why don't you just stop while you're ahead, alright?" Scott said; Sirius turned around quickly and gave Scott a surprised look, and then back at Colin. br /br 

"Is that some American terminology I should be aware of?" Colin said rudely. br /br 

"Colin, why don't you just shut the hell up and leave us alone?" Allison said in a serious tone. Sirius looked back at her; she had he Ancient Ruins book in her right had and still had her glasses on her face. br /br 

"Why don't you get your prissy attitude out of this, alright?" br /br 

Allison walked to the other side of the couch in rage and drawled her wand to his face. "Wanna say that again?" Colin's eyes were directly aimed at the tip of her wand; the whole room went silent. Outside of the two groups, more Gryffindors watched in shock in what Allison was doing, even Sirius. Allison was the Prefect, top of the class and she was going against a school rule by threatening a student with her wand. br /br 

"WHAT is going on in here?!" The booming voice came from the portrait hole. Here stormed in Professor McGonagall, in her pajamas, with a disgusted look on her face. "What…" As she reached the group, Allison dropped her wand. "Allison Channing. What in the devil's name are you doing? Were you threatening Mr. Connors?" br /br 

"She most certainly was, Professor!" Colin said like a little girl. "I didn't even do anything!" br /br 

"Liar! He's a liar!" John called out. br /br 

"John, please. I'll deal with you later," Professor McGonagall said looking away from John. "Now, can somebody tell me what happened so I can explain it to the First Years who are getting scared?" Sirius glanced up to the girls' stairway landing. There were three First Years hiding behind the railing. br /br 

"I can," Colin said. "She-" br /br 

"From someone who wasn't involved, Mr. Connors. Mr. Herman, can you tell me what happened?" br /br 

"Yes, Professor. We, the Quidditch team, were sitting here talking when Colin came up from behind and said some things about how he didn't make the team." Steven said. Sirius noticed how tense Colin was getting; it made him smile. "So then we told him to back off but he didn't and well then Allison sort of got in his face and yeah. You came. And now you're yelling at us." br /br 

"Thank you, Mr. Herman," Professor McGonagall said. "By the looks of it, Ms. Channing was threatening Mr. Connors, only because Mr. Connors provoked it. Therefore, Mr. Connors, you are prohibited from going on the first Hogsmeade trip. And as for Ms. Channing, I'd hate to do this, but 50 points from Gryffindor for your lack of self temptation." Allison looked relieved. Sirius could feel McGonagall suspending her from the team for a match, but she knows that Allison is the best Chaser Hogwarts has ever seen. "As for all of you awake and listening," she said speaking louder, "get to bed. Goodnight." And she stormed out of the common room. br /br 

Colin gave Allison a rude look while he and his crew walked up the dormitory stairs. Allison walked around the couch, picked up her glasses and her Ancient Ruins book and walked to the girls' dormitory without saying a word to anyone. br /br 

"Well, on that note, goodnight," Bev said giving Blake the cue that it was time to head to bed. br /br 

"Yeah, goodnight," Blake said. Both girls walked up the dormitory stairs together. Sirius, John, Steven and Scott sat back down on the couches. br /br 

"Well, what an eventful day we had, don't you think?" Steven said half laughing. br /br 

"Quite eventful," John sighed. "You know what I was just thinking about?" br /br 

"No, what?" Sirius asked. br /br 

"The Welcome Ball. We have a week to find dates." br /br 

"Well, mine's right upstairs," Steven said. br /br 

"And mine is no where to be found…" Sirius said. br /br 

"Well," Steven thought, "there's Allison, Alexis Johnson, Mary-" br /br 

"Mary has a date." John called out. "Rich Williams from America." br /br 

"Well, Allison, Alexis…" Steven laughed. "Try for Allison." br /br 

"She doesn't dance, remember?" Sirius said. The Quidditch teams of each Hogwarts house, besides Slytherin, had a party last year at Amaris's house. Everyone was dancing the night away, besides Allison who was sitting on the couch reading a book. br /br 

"Oh, you're right. I forgot." Steven recalled. "Well, Sirius, go get your flirt on. I'm sure someone would want to go to the Welcome Ball with the Prince." br /br 

"Yeah you're lucky." John said. "You can get a date just because you're rich and famous. I can't get a date because no one wants to date a poor Sicilian." br /br 

"John, I'm sure there's a girl out there who wants to go with you." Sirius said. "There's many fish in the sea." br /br 

"Yeah, well, I'm the shark that no one likes." John stood up; Sirius could tell he was getting furious. "I'm going to bed." John walked up to the dormitory. br /br 

"I don't know who I'm going with…" Scott said melancholy br /br 

"What about Blake?" Steven asked; Sirius's eyes were wide on Scott. br /br 

"I don't know, man. I was thinking of breaking it off. We just started dating at the end of summer. I thought it would only last for a summer fling, you know? But it just rolled into the new school year. Starting at a new school, now, I sort of wanted to start on a new slate, you know." br /br 

"Definitely, but who are you going to ask them?" Steven asked. br /br 

"Well, I was thinking Allison. She seems really cool, even though you say she doesn't dance." Scott said looking at Sirius. "But I was planning on breaking it off tomorrow or the next day, that way we both can get dates in time. I would hate to see her go dateless. She's so beautiful. I'm sure she will have no trouble finding a date." br /br 

"Oh, I'm sure she won't either," Steven replied, half smiling. "So, you're asking Allison, I'm obviously going with my Beverly, and Sirius is going with himself, as of right now." br /br 

"Ha-ha… you're hilarious, Steven." Sirius said very sarcastically. br /br 

"What about Blake?" Scott requested; Sirius's eyes lit up. "You're a nice guy. If it's anyone who I would want to ask Blake, it'd be you. You're so far, in my book, an okay guy. I don't want her to end up going with someone like Cedric Besecker or Tom Collini." br /br 

"Really?" Sirius said surprisingly. br /br 

"Really. I see how you act with her. You treat her politely. She needs that… not someone like me." br /br 

"Scott, don't criticize yourself like that. You can't be that bad." Steven said. br /br 

"Well, it depends on what your definition of bad is…Cheating on your girlfriend with her best friend and then having her best friend get mad at her for no reason and them break up and you not say anything about why….or is bad still seeing her ex-best friend after they broke up while still dating her…" The room fell silent; Sirius stared awkwardly at Scott. He saw out of the corner of his eye Steven doing the same. br /br 

"Yeah…" Steven said quietly. "I guess that's bad." br /br 

"Yeah… it is bad." Scott replied. "So, Sirius, will you go with Blake? I'll mention it to her in the breakup." br /br 

"Well, I'll think about it…" Sirius said, embarrassed. "I'm going to bed."


	6. The Letter

Sunday's are days that Sirius dreaded most. The day was spent without Quidditch while spending all your free time working on homework. He already received an assignment from Hagrid for Care of Magical on The History of a Bogart and a full page essay for Snape in Potions. br /br 

After lunch, Sirius walked around the castle grounds with Beverly. Steven, John, and Andrew were playing Exploding Snaps in the common room while Allison was making new Chaser plays in the library. br /br 

"So, have you thought about the Ball lately?" Beverly asked as the two of them sat down on the fountain in the courtyard. br /br 

"Thought about it, yes – done anything, no." Sirius sighed. br /br 

"You better step up to the plate, boy. Word has it that most girls are taken." br /br 

"'Word'?" Sirius repeated. br /br 

"Yes, as in what I heard in the bathroom this morning. Blake was crying hysterically and all of her American girl friends were comforting her. I asked what was wrong and Darla Frania said that Scott Smith broke up with her. I almost feel sorry for her…" br /br 

"Why almost?" br /br

"Because of you, Sirius," Beverly stated clearly. "I pretended to feel bad when I was in the bathroom, but right as I turned away I smiled. She's all yours now, Sirius. You should ask her." br /br 

Sirius thought about what Beverly just stated. i You should ask her. /i All he could think about was that sentence running through his head. "I will, but I'll give her some time. She just got her heart broken." br /br

"You should just do it before anyone else, that's all." Beverly took her long hair out of it's' ponytail, brushed her hair with her fingers, and put it back into the ponytail that lay on her back. br /br 

"Why do you have it like that?" Sirius asked. br /br 

"What do you mean?" Beverly asked. br /br 

"Your hair… It is just perfect and you put it back as if you're trying to hide something." br /br

"Well, how about we make a deal… When Blake says yes to you, my hair will be down for the rest of the year, excluding when I'm studying and Quidditch. Deal?" She stuck out her hand; Sirius smiled at her. br /br 

"Deal." They shook hands to settle the deal. "You still never told me why you pull your hair back like that." br /br

"Well, you still haven't told me why you don't ask girls out." Beverly said, snobbishly. br /br 

"I'm shy." br /br

"I'm insecure about my hair." br /br

"Don't be." br /br 

"Then you shouldn't be shy." Beverly sounded serious. He just sighed and went on to watching people in the courtyard. Seventh year Ravenclaws were all there in the corner dancing to some sort of music the American Ravenclaw, Jesse Murray, brought over. Slytherins were making fun of some younger year Gryffindors, which Beverly called "overly-barbaric, rude, and immature." Sirius looked to his right and saw Allison walking about the doors to come and sit with them. She was wearing her glasses, which meant she had been working, and had her messenger bag on her right hip. br /br 

"Look these over." She dug in her bag and pulled out at least what seemed ten pieces of parchment. "They're plays. I want you to go over these, fix them how you want, and get them back to me by tomorrow after break. Is that alright?" br /br

Sirius skimmed through some of them. "Sounds good, mate." br /br 

"Excuse me," said a voice. Sirius looked up and saw, to his surprise, Scott Smith. "Can I have a word with you, Sirius, alone, please?" br /br

"Umm… sure." Sirius handed the plays back to Allison, stood up, and walked out of the courtyard and down to the lake with Scott. It was a quite walk down there, mostly because Scott said hello to about every female who passed by. br /br 

"How do you get them that easily?" Sirius shouted out. br /br 

"Get who?" br /br

"Women." Sirius said. Scott laughed. br /br 

"Well, I'm fresh on the market. Ladies like that." br /br

"Oh, right…. So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" The two of them were down by the shore. Some students were sitting on the rocky beach, skipping stones, but some were noticing the two boys who all knew they were not the closest of friends. br /br 

"Halcyon and Allison. Ask Halcyon. When I was breaking up with her I said 'I don't want you to go dateless to the Ball, so maybe you should see if Sirius is going with anyone.' And she said that she would see sometime soon. So, jump on the wagon before anyone else does." br /br 

"All I can say is that I'll try… I'm not good with girls." br /br

"So I've heard," Scott said disgustingly. "But anyway, should I ask Allison?" br /br

"Well, if you want to. I mean, I wouldn't because we're best friends and it would just be awkward. But I think she might say yes to you, actually." br /br

"Good, I'm glad we had this conversation. Thanks man," Scott said patting Sirius on the back. He started walking back up to the castle. Sirius picked up a few rocks and skipped one across the lake. "Wait, Sirius, when is practice?" br /br

"Oh, the schedule will be posted by the end of today in the common room." Scott walked away back up to the castle. Sirius continued to skip rocks across the murky water. An hour later, Sirius walked up to the Owlry. He found his brown, dirty owl Toby sitting on the handrail on the steps leading to the Owlry. His feathers were mostly plucked and he was not groomed. br /br 

"What happened to you, fellow?" Sirius said stroking Toby, taking thorns and sticks out of him. Sirius noticed a letter tied to Toby's leg. He untied it quickly, realizing that it was very tight around his owl's leg. As soon as the letter was released, Toby flew into the Owlry to a bowl of water and drank viciously; Sirius stood by him. br /br 

Sirius unraveled the parchment noticing the penmanship right away: br /br 

i on the floor of the Lake br 

lives a Man who goes by Leroy Easton br 

with the merpeople br 

sing Him a song br 

for he is in Grave danger br 

go to his Yardbr br 

and say hello to his Pappy i br /br 

"What the hell?!" Sirius screamed. A few students turned and looked at him; Sirius turned red. "Sorry…" The letter was odd. It was for many reasons…but the most important reason, Sirius realized it was in his mother's handwriting. As soon as he read it over for the second time, he left the Owlry and ran to the castle. br /br 

He pushed third years almost off the steps as he ran up to Professor Dumbledore's office. He stood at the phoenix with great anxiousness. i Shit. What the hell is the password? /i Sirius thought to himself as he screamed random things. br /br 

"Uh… gillyweed. Chudley Cannons. Snape sucks…" Sirius almost laughed at what came out of his mouth. "Berty Botts. Finger Snapps." The phoenix turned. "'Finger Snapps?'" Sirius laughed. As the phoenix turned around, steps appeared which lead to his office. br /br 

He got to the top and dashed to the door. Sirius banged on the door with both fists, his left one crumbling the parchment from his mother. br /br 

"Professor! It's Sirius Morgan! I need you now!" He screamed pounding his fists. The door started opening, and Sirius took a step back. Professor McGonagall stood before him. br /br 

"Yes, Prince Morgan? Is there something wrong?" She asked politely, but half startled with Sirius's entrance. br /br 

"Yes, Professor. I… I got this from… my mother." He looked at her. She fell silent staring at Sirius. br /br 

"Give me that." She demanded. Sirius handed over the parchment. "Come…come and sit down, Sirius." Sirius followed Professor McGonagall into Dumbledore's office. The large circle room was nothing new to Sirius like it would have been for most. He spent many hours in there last year for either getting into trouble for serious fights or something about his royalty. Sirius never liked that office very much, mainly because it brought back dreadful thoughts of his past. br /br 

Sirius took a seat with Professor McGonagall in front of Dumbledore's desk. Dumbledore came rushing down the spiral stairs. "What is it, Morgan?" br /br

"I got a letter today… from my mother." Dumbledore's eyes glistened on Sirius's. He could feel them beaming in on himself as if it somehow was a bad thing that he got the letter. br /br

McGonagall passed the letter to Dumbledore. He tilted his half moon shaped glasses down on the tip of his nose to read the letter. "Ah-ha… I see…. Well, this is your mother's handwriting. I would know… she did send many many letters this past summer and all of last year." Professor Dumbledore smiled at Sirius whose face was still. "When did you get this?" br /br 

"Not even ten minutes ago, sir. I was at the lake with Scott Smith skipping stones then decided to go to the Owlry to write a letter to Wallis and Marissa. But then I saw Toby and he looked dreadful. He was all cut up, unkempt – horrible looking, Professor. Then I saw the parchment and it was tied so tightly around his leg that I'm surprised his leg still had blood flowing through it." br /br

"And this was all that was with Toby?" Dumbledore asked. br /br

"Yes, Professor." Sirius sat there shaking. "How can this be happening?! I thought they were dead! Professor…. I don't understand." br /br 

"Sirius, I do not understand either…. How they… disappeared does not happen much… never like this…. I am going to copy this letter for you – word for word, punctuation for punctuation, grammar for grammar." He started writing it on a separate piece of parchment. "I will keep the real version, and you will have this one." He handed it to Sirius. "Now, before you leave for dinner, I just want you to not say this to anyone. Tell your close friends – you know who they are - Ms. Channing, Mr. Herman, Mr. Parente, and Ms. Snider. But no more than that, or else… well, we won't get into that. Make sure you tell them in private, because, like you know, word spreads here at Hogwarts like a wildfire." br /br 

Dumbledore stood up along with Sirius. Dumbledore bowed to Sirius and Sirius bowed back. Sirius felt very uncomfortable leaving Dumbledore's office. One of the greatest of wizards bowed to him, just because he is the prince. To make him feel even more uncomfortable, his parents were alive. His mother wasn't one to write any type of poetry, so he found it odd. br /br 

He immediately went back to the Owlry to check on Toby. One of the veterinarians were there looking at him. br /br 

"Oh good, Prince Morgan, you're here." She said. She was a tall woman and built big. Her face was plumped and had rosy cheeks. "Your owl… I cannot figure out why he is this horrible. It looks like he got his left wing broken then could not fly. But it looks to me like it healed mugglely." She took out her wand and a spell Sirius could not hear with all of the owls hooting in the background. Toby's wing was fixed; it stopped dangling and feathers grew back in within a second. br /br 

"Thank you so much, Madam," Sirius said stroking Toby. br /br 

"Any time, darling. Now, the next time you go to send a letter, use a school owl." She said putting a bucket of water under a sink. "Now, when was the last time you saw your owl?" br /br

"Oh, well," Sirius thought, "I last saw him the evening I arrived at Hogwarts. I let him out of his cage and he flew out the window." br /br

"Well, maybe, dear, he got lost." br /br

"That cannot be. He has never gotten lost before." br /br

"Then I am afraid I cannot help you with where he was. Do you know where the last letter came from? Maybe he was on a long journey." br /br

"It came from-" Sirius stopped. He was told not to say anything to anyone unless it was his close friends. "It came from no one. There was nothing with him. I was just going to write a letter home when I saw him all messed up." br /br 

"Oh, well, then I cannot help you. Sorry, Prince Morgan." br /br 

"It's alright. Thanks for healing him" Sirius said dashing out of the Owlry. br /br 

He ran as fast as he could up to the Gryffindor tower. He raced in the common room, finding Allison with Scott on the sofas, John and Andrew working on homework, and Beverly and Steven snogging in the corner. Sirius booked it to the boys' dormitory. He ran into his dorm and sat on his bed. He was breathing heavily, holding the note in his hand. It was all crinkled, and trembling in his hands. br /br 

"What the hell is going on?" Steven's voice said; Sirius turned to the door and there was Steven and John coming in. br /br 

"I got a letter…" Sirius said staring at the note. Steven and John came and sat on John's bed, which was right next to Sirius's. br /br 

"From a girl?" Steven asked. br /br 

"No…well, sort of… my mother." The room fell silent. John's eyes widened and Steven's mouth dropped two inches. br /br 

"Sirius…" Steven said quietly. "She's dead." br /br

"I know, but I don't think she actually is. I think she got… captured - her and dad…and maybe Colby." br /br

"This can't be happening, Sirius." Steven said shocked. "I mean, they're dead." br /br

"It can happen," John said quietly. "Sure, you think it couldn't happen… three people disappearing. But this is magic. We're not in the muggle world. Sure, Sirius's parents are muggles, but Sirius isn't." br /br

"Sirius, are you sure your parents are muggles?" Steven jumped in. br /br 

"I always thought they were… but I'm not so sure any more." Sirius lay back on his bed, his feet still touching the floor. "I need to talk to my grandparents." br /br 

"Well, how? You can't call them." John said. br /br 

"My grandmother… is a witch. She can come here" Sirius ran out of the dormitory, leaving John and Steven in his dust. Sirius was getting tired. All the running made him stop in the middle of an empty corridor which leads to Professor McGonagall's office. He was breathing heavily, and pacing around the corridor. Tears started forming in his eyes, but he did not cry. He was so stressed. Were his parents actually alive? Could Colby be? Questions upon questions filled into his head, making him stress even more. br /br 

Sirius walked down the corridor and into Professor McGonagall's classroom. He saw her at the front of the classroom, sitting at her desk. br /br 

"Professor?" Sirius said standing at the doorway. br /br 

She stood up and bowed. "Come in, Morgan." McGonagall sat back down; Sirius walked in, feeling more uncomfortable. br /br 

"Please don't do that," he said to her as he sat down in front of her desk. br /br 

"Do what?" br /br

"Bow to me. I hate it. When Professor Dumbledore did, I felt… so weird. He's one of the greatest of wizards and he bowed to me, a student." br /br

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Morgan, but you are the prince, and to be proper we should bow." McGonagall said straight forwardly. br /br 

"I understand being proper, but not from people like you. It's just… hard." Sirius sighed slouching down in the seat. "But that's not the reason why I'm here… I want to see my grandmother." br /br

"The queen?" Professor McGonagall asked. br /br 

"Yes, can she come by Floo Powder?" br /br 

"Well, I don't see why not. I will write her a letter, upon your request to have her here." Professor McGonagall grabbed parchment and her quill. She started writing, and then looked at Sirius. "Go on about your day, Sirius." She opened up the jour and handed him a piece of parchment. "It is the practice schedule. Put it up on the common room bulletin board then stay in the common room. Someone will be up to get you when your grandmother has arrived." br /br 

Sirius stood up and walked out of the room. He went to the courtyard and sat under a tree. He watched sixth year Gryffindors laughing about something, the Ravenclaw Quidditch team making new plays and some first year Slytherins studying. He was jealous of each and every single one of them. None of them were stressing because their thought-to-be-dead parents were actually alive and quite possibly their best friend, as well. br /br 

"Hello," said a voice. Sirius looked around and no one was looking at him. He looked behind the tree and no one was there. "Look up." Sirius looked up, and there was Blake sitting in the tree. "Took you long enough," she laughed. "Wanna come up?" br /br

"Sure," Sirius stood up and climbed up the tree. She was up there pretty high, higher than Sirius had ever climbed that tree. He took the same path she did up to the top. br /br 

"So, what's up?" Blake asked as Sirius sat next to her. br /br 

"Oh, not much, actually." br /br 

"Liar." Blake blurted out; Sirius looked at her. "You're lying. I'm not stupid." br /br

"Alright, you're right. A lot is up." br /br 

"Well, that's better. Want to talk about it?" br /br

"Ha… um, no, not really." br /br

"And once again… liar." Blake sighed. br /br 

"Alright. I got a letter from my mother today." Sirius looked at Blake and her eyes widened. "And yes, she is supposed to be dead, I know. She wrote me a poem, and it does not make any sense. It has all these grammar mistakes and plus she never wrote me poetry. Oh, and the Ball is Saturday and I still don't have a date." br /br

"Well, you have a lot on your plate." Blake said blankly. "My brother Thomas and his wife are having a baby and my whole family is freaking out because we're not sure whether it is going to be a muggle or not, Andrew isn't talking to me because I told him I didn't want to go home for winter break, and Scott broke up with me this morning, which you probably already had heard. But I definitely think you beat me with having a shitty day." br /br

"I… agree." Sirius tried to laugh, but nothing came out. "I'm just… so confused now. I mean, I thought they were dead, I really did. But this note… they can't be dead." br /br

"Can I take a look at it?" Blake asked curiously. br /br 

"Sure," Sirius dug through his pocket, grabbing the note and handing it to Blake. br /br

She opened it, reading it through her head with her lips barely moving. "I think it's one of those notes you have to figure out. When I was growing up in the States, we had reading assignments – two books a month. I read this one series of books. In one of the books, it had a code from a letter with really crappy grammar. The lady who wrote the note was a strict English professor, or something with very good grammar, so the one girl figured out the code and realized it all worked out to be a place where the English person was in captive…. I'm pretty sure I have the book with me, actually, or Jason might because it is his reading level now." br /br 

"Would you mind if I borrowed it?" Sirius asked. br /br

"Yeah, that'd be fine. I'm not exactly sure if I have that very one, but if I don't I can ask my mom to send it over here." br /br

"Thank you so much," Sirius said, leaning over to hug her; He almost slipped off the tree. Blake laughed. br /br

"Maybe we should get down from here." Blake said sliding on her back down onto the branch below, climbing the rest of the way down. Sirius soon followed, feeling a modest bit better about the future to come. br /br 

Sirius and Blake walked back up to the Gryffindor common room. He posted the practice schedule on the bulletin, grabbed his books and sat down at the couches with Blake to work on their essays. An hour into working, John came dashing into the common room. br /br 

"Sirius!" He screamed running in; Sirius jumped around, seeing John out of breath. He got closer to Sirius's ear. Breathing heavily and trying to whisper, John said "Your grandmother… She's here. Go to Dumbledore's. Finger Snapps is the password." br /br

Sirius put his books down, jumped over the couch and dashed out of the common room, leaving Blake in confusion. He ran to the other side of the castle in less than five minutes. The phoenix couldn't have been moving any slower up, Sirius thought as his heart was pounding hard. The door to Dumbledore's office was closed, so Sirius barged in without knocking. All heads turned to the door and eyes right on Sirius. br /br 

"Well, you sure know how to make an entrance," said the queen. Sirius ran to her and hugged her, his head chin pressed hard on her shoulder. "Hello, darling," she whispered in his ear. br /br 

"Hello, Grandmother." Sirius said pulling away. He looked around the room. Dumbledore was about to sit at his desk and McGonagall was behind him standing. "Where's Grandfather?" Sirius asked as they both sat down. br /br 

"He could not make it with the horse show going on today, and all." She replied. The one hundredth annual horse show of every country in the world with a king and queen was today. "Godric was very stubborn today. He would not listen to Benny at all." Sirius smiled slightly as the queen sipped her coffee. br /br 

"So the letter…" McGonagall butted in. br /br 

"Oh, yes, the letter." The queen said. She reached in her purse. "It is from my son. I know his writing very well." She handed the letter over to Dumbledore who moved his half moon glasses farther down on his nose to read it. br /br 

"Ah, yes indeed. This is his handwriting." Dumbledore declared. "I know it well, too. He wrote many letters to me back in his day." br /br

"'Back in his day'?" Sirius questioned; all the adult eyes went roaming. Sirius stared at Dumbledore, knowing something was up. br /br

"Well, we would constantly write to each other in your first year, Sirius. He wanted to… make sure you were alright." Dumbledore stared back down at the parchment. "What we need to do is figure out what this means. It is obviously a code to the location where they are, but this might take years to figure out. Sirius, I want you to show the letter to Ms. Channing, Mr. Herman, Ms. Snider, Ms. Reinard, and Mr. Parente. Do not tell anyone other than those people. You cannot let word get out about this. If you need a place to discuss it, feel free to use my office, Professor McGonagall's, or Hagrid's hut." His voice was serious and almost painful to listen to. Sirius felt as if the orders Dumbledore was telling him were very strict. br /br 

"Yes, sir." Sirius replied. He sat there shaking. The world seemed to be standing still and everything that was going on was spinning around him in tornado form. br /br 

"Oh, dear," said the Queen. "It looks like I should be getting home soon." She stood up and everyone in the room did as well. Sirius slowly got out of his seat. He turned to his grandmother and hugged her. "Stay safe, Sirius Duke." She whispered into his ear. "I don't want to lose you, too. I love you, dear." br /br

"I love you, too, Grandmother." Sirius watched his Grandmother step into Dumbledore's fireplace to leave by Floo Powder. He stood there, breathing heavily as Professor Dumbledore sat back down at his desk. br /br 

"Sirius," Professor Dumbledore spoke, "go back to the common room. I want you to figure this out as soon as possible. Work with Allison diligently. I know she will help you immensely on this." br /br

"Alright, Professor," Sirius said walking out of his office. "Professor?" He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around, facing Dumbledore. br /br

"Yes, Prince?"  
br /br  
"Do… Do you think we'll find them?" The room fell silent; Dumbledore stared at Harry for what seemed to be eternity. br /br 

"I hope we will find them, Prince Morgan. Off you go, now." Professor Dumbledore looked back down at the parchment. Sirius walked out of the office, closing the door behind him. br /br 

"I don't understand…" Allison continuously repeated herself. Sirius, Allison, and John sat in the back corner near the fireplace in the common room. It was around midnight and barely anyone was left in the common room. The ones who were left were just those finishing up their weekend homework they had forgotten to do. "I just…how…Dammit." br /br 

"Well, they are alive. At least we know that." John said bluntly. br /br 

"That is true, but what I don't understand is this is so grammatically incorrect. I've studied your mother's works, Sirius, and this… this is so ridiculous I can barely read it." Allison said there in complete distress. br /br 

"Let's just work it out line per line." Sirius sighed. "'_on the floor of the Lake_

_lives a Man who goes by Leroy Easton…'_ Alright…Dumbledore told me to look at each punctuation mark, capitalization pattern, and grammar. First word isn't capitalized but 'lake' and 'man' are. And who the hell is Leroy Easton?" br /br 

"I don't know, but it's capitalized, so let's put that under the capitalized list…." Allison said. She had at least ten parchments spread all over the table in an unorganized way. She shuffled through all of the parchments finding one and writing the capitalized words on it. br /br 

"So what are the capitalized letters we have now?" John asked yawning. br /br 

"L, M, L, and E," Allison answered. br /br 

"So far that spells out shit. Dammit." Sirius grunted. br /br 

"Relax, Captain. We'll figure it out. Don't worry." John said patting Sirius's back. "Maybe the next two lines will help…What are they?" br /br 

"…_with the merpeople. sing Him a song_…' Only 'him' is capitalized. So write down H" Sirius read through the rest of the poem. "Add G, Y, and P for Grave, Yard, and Pappy." br /br 

"'Grave Yard'?" Allison questioned under her breath. "Graveyard?...Graveyard. They're in a graveyard." br /br

"Does that mean they're dead?" Sirius questioned obnoxiously. br /br 

"They can't be if they wrote it." br /br 


End file.
